Devil
The Devil's Dyke
He dug till midnight. Then the cock crowed early.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Deep dry chalk valley with wide views over the Weald
- Legend from
- Local folklore; Cuthman hagiography
- Tone
- Light-hearted
One night's digging, one candle, one frightened cockerel. Sussex was saved by a fake sunrise.
Devil's Dyke is a 100 m deep dry valley in the South Downs north-west of Brighton, managed by the National Trust. Folklore says the Devil, furious that Sussex had become Christian, set out to dig a trench through the Downs to let the sea flood the Weald. St Cuthman of Steyning bet him he could not finish in one night. Just after midnight Cuthman lit a candle in his window and startled a cock into crowing. The Devil thought dawn had come and fled. The earth he threw up became Chanctonbury, Cissbury, Mount Caburn, Firle Beacon and even the Isle of Wight.