Devil
The Devil's Anvil
Aimed at a cathedral, landed on the heath.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Huge tilted rock on a heather knoll
- Legend from
- Folk tale
- Tone
- Light-hearted
Thrown from the Needles, and it fell short.
The Agglestone, a sandstone block of about 400 tonnes perched on a heathland knoll near Studland, is also called the Devil's Anvil. Legend says the Devil threw it from the Needles on the Isle of Wight, aiming for Corfe Castle, Bindon Abbey or Salisbury Cathedral, and it fell short. The National Trust's version has him sitting on the Needles and tossing his cap at Corfe. The rock had a flat anvil-shaped top until it toppled onto its side in 1970. Memorials of Old Dorset suggests the name comes from 'hagge', a witch, or 'heilig', holy.