The Devil
The church on the rock
Built where the Devil put it.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Small stone church on a rocky volcanic summit
- Legend from
- Hine (1861) / Hunt
- Tone
- Curious
The Devil moved the church to the top. St Michael threw a rock at him.
The little church of St Michael sits on top of Brent Tor. Hine (1861) and Hunt both tell that it was begun at the foot of the hill, but the Devil carried the stones to the top each night; St Michael then hurled a rock at him and drove him off. Another version says a merchant caught in a storm at sea vowed to build a church on the first land he saw, and built it on the tor.