Saint
Martyr's Hill
Martha's, or the martyrs'? Dance on it and decide.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Hilltop church on the Pilgrims' Way
- Legend from
- Local tradition; Good Friday custom recorded 19th century
- Best time
- Good Friday
- Tone
- Curious
Martha's hill, or Martyr's hill? On Good Friday the whole countryside climbed up here to dance.
St Martha's church stands alone on a sandy hill above Chilworth, on the Pilgrims' Way. Its name puzzled people for centuries. Records give 'St Martha and All Holy Martyrs' and 'Martyr's Hill', and in 1463 an indulgence was granted to pilgrims who came here. Local tradition said early Christians had been burned on the hill in Saxon times. Others thought the martyr was Thomas Becket, whose shrine pilgrims were travelling to. A Victorian writer described youths, maidens and old folk gathering on the hill every Good Friday for music and dancing, a custom 'the origin of which is lost'.