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Explore - Folklore & Legends

Bell Land, 1938

For whom the bell tolls: Bell Land and Cropredy folklore

8 October 2024

Bell Land, Wardington Road, Chacombe

A 400-year tradition of bell-ringing at Cropredy began with a lost vicar in 1512.

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Brasenose college entrance

Brasenose Hellfire Club: A Devilish Encounter

7 July 2024

Brasenose Lane, Oxford

If legend speaks true, certain young libertines of Brasenose College got more than they bargained for when they tried to summon the Devil!

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Ditchley Park

Ghosts of Ditchley Park, Enstone

29 May 2024

Ditchley Park, Enstone

Deadman's Riding? Grim's Ditch? The Devil's Pool? Surrounded by so many sinister names, it's no wonder that Ditchley Park near Enstone has a dark side to its reputation.

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Montage of St. Mary's Church, North Leigh, with an illustration of the Devil looming over the skyline.

The Devil's Nutting Day at North Leigh

27 February 2024

North Leigh, West Oxfordshire

If local folklore is to be believed, the Devil himself is a surprisingly regular visitor to this West Oxfordshire village.

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An old map showing Black Jack's Spring, at Sparsholt

Black Jack's Well: Sparsholt's healing spring

5 February 2024

Sparsholt Park, Sparsholt

Black Jack's Well in Sparsholt is a natural spring said to have miraculous healing properties.

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The Devil's Punchbowl, map circa 1913

The Devil's Punchbowl, Childrey

25 October 2023

Childrey Parish, Vale of the White Horse

How this smooth-sided Oxfordshire valley close to the Ridgeway got its devilish name is somewhat mysterious.

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A map showing the Devil's Churchyard, 1912

The Devil's Churchyard at Checkendon

22 October 2023

Woodland Northeast of Checkendon, South Oxfordshire

Buried in woodland in South Oxfordshire is a heart-shaped earthwork enclosure that for hundreds of years has been known as the Devil's Churchyard.

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A man rejecting the devil in the form of a serpent

The Devil at Barnard Gate

27 March 2023

Barnard Gate, Eynsham

The Devil in the form of a fiery serpent is said to have ensnared a man on his way to Barnard Gate.

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