The Devil's Spadeful
The Devil left a heap of earth, and silver bells are buried in it.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Huge grassy Norman motte in a town park
- Legend from
- Local tradition recorded by W.G. Clarke (1906)
- Best time
- Daytime
- Tone
- Curious
Devil · Thetford · Hidden
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The Devil left a heap of earth, and silver bells are buried in it.
See it clearly
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Thetford's giant mound? The Devil scraped it off his spade after digging the Newmarket dyke.
Castle Hill in Thetford is one of the largest Norman castle mounds in England, surrounded by Iron Age ramparts. Local legend says it wasn't built by people at all. After digging the great dykes at Narborough and Newmarket, the Devil scraped the earth off his spade here, and this huge heap was the result. Another story says a royal palace full of treasure lies buried under the mound, along with six silver bells. Anyone who tries to dig for it will be stopped by supernatural guardians. Wikipedia cites W.G. Clarke's 1906 account in Norfolk Archaeology for these tales.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.