DevilFamous
The Crooked Spire
The Devil sneezed, and the spire never straightened.
See it clearly
- What's there
- A huge twisted, leaning lead spire
- Legend from
- Local legend
- Tone
- Light-hearted
The Devil sneezed on Chesterfield's spire, or so they say, and it has never stood straight since.
Chesterfield's church spire is famously twisted and leaning. Legend blames the Devil. In one version a Bolsover blacksmith, tricked into shoeing him, drove a nail into his foot, and the Devil in agony kicked or lashed the spire as he flew past. In another he rested on the spire and sneezed at the smell of incense, twisting it. A rude version says the spire turned to stare at a virgin bride and will straighten when another marries there. More likely causes are unseasoned timber, poor bracing and the weight of lead added in the 17th century.