Custom
Pixie Day
Say 'God bless my soul' and the spell breaks.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Riverside park and town streets
- Legend from
- Delderfield pamphlet (1954) / legend
- Tone
- Light-hearted
The pixies kidnapped the monks to stop the bells. Every June, the children do it again.
Pixie Day re-enacts a legend that the pixies tried to stop the church bells being hung by Bishop Grandisson. They led the bell-ringing monks astray towards the Sidmouth cliffs until one stubbed his toe, said 'God bless my soul' and broke the spell. Wikipedia says the event has run since 1954, based on a pamphlet by R. F. Delderfield. Cub and Brownie pixies 'capture' the bellringers and take them to the Pixies' Parlour cave. The town council lists it for 20 June 2026.