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Turning the Devil's Stone
Keep the Devil out of Shebbear.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Large boulder under an oak tree in a village square
- Legend from
- Local tradition
- Tone
- Curious
Turn the stone each Bonfire Night, or the Devil gets out.
Under an oak in Shebbear's square lies a big boulder, the Devil's Stone. Each 5 November the bellringers ring a clashing peal and lever it over with crowbars to keep the Devil away. The Guardian says it is a sarsen, not local stone. Wikipedia says it was dropped on the Devil after a fight with St Michael, and that it was missed once in the Second World War, after which bad news befell the village until it was turned.