Old Nick across the Isles
Cheated Devil
Location: Aberystwyth (Dyfed) - Devil's Bridge
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil is said to have built the bridge for an old lady - he expected her soul as a reward but ended up with that of a dog instead. Crossing the bridge at night is said to risk the Devil pushing you off as revenge for the old woman's treachery. Another legend says that a ghost that haunted a nearby house was banished to a cavern under the bridge where it now works.
Laid by the Devil
Location: Acton Burnell (Shropshire) - Devil's Causeway, between village and Cardington
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: It was said Old Nick created this old road in a single night. He was said to appear to anyone using the road at midnight, taking the form of a man on a white horse (although he had the horns and feet of a cow). If the person encountering him had a good soul, they could pass unheeded. If they had led an evil life, the Devil would beat them to a bloodied pulp.
Demonic Frogs
Location: Acton Burnell (Shropshire) - Frog Well
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The Devil and three imps are said to live here, manifesting in the form of frogs. While the imps are happy to be seen, Old Nick takes the form of a larger frog and spends most of the time hiding away.
The Devil Helps Thrice
Location: Adderbury (Oxfordshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: This church is one of three in the area (Bloxham and King's Sutton being the other two) that were paid for by three brothers. One of their workers who helped construct this tower never took any pay, never slept and never ate - he vanished as soon as the tower was built. The brothers were convinced that they were helped by Old Nick.
Mowing Devil
Location: Airdrie (Lanarkshire) - Unidentified farmer's field, North Burn
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witch by the name of Maggie Ramsey was said to have summoned the devil to assist her in a mowing contest, although he remained invisible to anyone without second sight.
Summoned Entity
Location: Akenham (Suffolk) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local myth states that walking around the church thirteen times anticlockwise will summon the Devil.
Devil's Bang
Location: Aldbury (Hertfordshire) - Former castle
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil reportedly helped the owner of the castle perform alchemy on the site, before a chemical mishap blew them both to hell.
Old Nick
Location: Alderley Edge (Cheshire) - Devil's Grave, Stormy Point
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Legend has it that if one runs around the cave known locally as 'Devil's Grave' widdershins three times, the Devil is raised! Another version says that running around it three times restores your virginity.
John Euerafriad
Location: Aldworth (Berkshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John Euerafriad sold his soul to the Devil (for what we do not know), whether he was buried within the church or not. As normal, with this type of deal, he was buried under the church wall (neither in nor out of the church) which denied the Devil his due.
Devil's Trackway
Location: Alton Priors (Wiltshire) - Knap Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This causeway was said to have been constructed by the devil. There are also reports of buried treasure in the area.
Blind George
Location: Anstey (Hertfordshire) - Fields around the village, and Devil's Hole cave
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to still be playing his fiddle in tunnels under the village, Blind George ventured into the Devil's Hole cave with his trusted dog - the hound ran out, and was found with its hair burnt away, and George was never seen again.
Furrow
Location: Ashampstead Green (Berkshire) - Grim's Ditch
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Between five and six miles long, this ancient ditch is said to have been created by the Devil and two inhuman helpers in a single night.
Devil's Apron String
Location: Ballingry (Fife) - Rocks in the area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: While on a mission to fill the loch with stones, the Devil, carrying the boulders in his apron, had a mishap; the apron string broke, the rocks scattering themselves over the landscape. The Devil gave up and returned home.
Dropped Mortar
Location: Banbury (Oxfordshire) - Crouch Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Hill still present
Further Comments: During the construction of the churches at Bloxham, Adderbury and King's Sutton, the Devil was thought to have lent a hand. During the work he slipped and dropped some of the mortar he was carrying, thus creating Crouch Hill.
Blown Cross
Location: Banwell (Somerset) - Hillfort
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: It was believed that the villagers tried to erect a massive cross on the hill, though the Devil visited every night and blew it down. Exasperated, the villagers carved the cross into stone, preventing further destruction. It is now thought the cross was the base of a Roman hillfort,
Tatter Foal
Location: Barton-upon-Humber (Lincolnshire) - General area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The Devil was said to occasional visit this area in the form of a rough looking horse.
Leaping Devil
Location: Batcombe (Dorset) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: For many years, the church tower only had three pinnacles - the loss of the fourth was blamed on the Devil who tried to jump over the tower while giving chase to a local wizard named Minterne.
Devil's Hand
Location: Beauly (Highland) - St John's Priory ruins
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A stone doorway is said to display the mark of Satan.
Digging Devil
Location: Beechamwell (Norfolk) - Hangour Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Hill still present
Further Comments: As Old Nick dug out the nearby dyke, Hangour Hill was created with the discarded earth.
Golden Coffin
Location: Berwick St John (Wiltshire) - Winklebury Camp, also known as Winkelbury Camp
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A golden coffin is reputed to be buried in the area. Another legend says that if you walk around the hill seven times while swearing, the Devil will appear to grant you a single wish.
Pact
Location: Bideford (Devon) - Road behind the churchyard
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witch once claimed (likely under duress) that she met the Devil in human form along this road, where she made a deal with him. As a side note, the Devil is thought to have tried to hamper the construction of the bridge here.
Hoof Marks
Location: Birtley (Northumberland) - Devil's Stone
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A standing stone at this site was said to feature marks where the Devil had jumped and landed upon it (by mistake, as he was aiming for a building some half mile away).
Caught in the Tread
Location: Bishops Castle (Shropshire) - Lea Stone, located near the castle ruins
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: The Lea Stone was created when the Devil picked the rock from his boot and tossed it aside.
Meeting Point
Location: Bishops Castle (Shropshire) - Stiperstones (aka Stiper Stones)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 21 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: It is a curious local legend that states that once a year all the ghosts in the UK meet at the stones, one assumes for their AGM. Another story says that if the stones ever sink into the earth, England shall be ruined; the Devil occasionally sits on the stones to speed up the process.
The Devil Helps Thrice
Location: Bloxham (Oxfordshire) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Fourteenth century
Further Comments: This church is one of three in the area (King's Sutton and Adderbury being the other two) that were paid for by three brothers. One of their workers who helped construct this tower never took any pay, never slept and never ate - he vanished as soon as the tower was built. The brothers were convinced that they were helped by Old Nick.
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