This article was published in Autumn 1988 in the very first issue of ASH magazine, and was the folklore debut of the author.
The Devil in Essex
Alex Langstone
One may be forgiven for thinking, that in this modern age, myths and legends associated with the Devil must have faded with the 'mist of time'. This does not seem to be the case though, as local lore is so deeply etched into the landscape, that to this day there seems to be a wealth of devil legends associated with various places throughout Essex. One of these tales is the story of the Devil and Barn Hall at Tolleshunt Knights.
One day, as the story goes, a local squire decided to build Barn Hall in what was known as Devils Wood. So they started to dig the foundations. Each morning, when they returned, they found the trenches they had dug had been filled in. This went on for a few days, so in desperation, the squire ordered that a sentry be put on duty during the night, so as to find out what was happening. On the first night the sentry heard someone approaching.
"Who goes there!" he shouted.
"I, Satan and my hounds" was the reply.
The sentry replied, "This place is guarded by God and myself." The Devil turned and fled.
On the second night the Devil once more appeared. Again the sentry inquired as to who was there, and again Old Nick revealled himself. Only this time the sentry made the mistake of declaring that only he was guarding the site, and not God. On hearing this, the Devil picked up a timber and shouted
"Wherever this timber lands, you shall build barn hall", and with that he tore out the mans heart.
The Devil then vowed that he would have the mans soul whether he was buried inside the church or out. So it was decided that they should bury him within the church wall. There are those who say, that if you look closely, you can make out the evil one's claw marks on the walls of the parish church, where he tried in vain to search out his prey.
One point to this story that is interesting is if you visit All Saints church at Tolleshunt Knights you will see, in the north wall a niche, in this niche is a stone effigy of a knight holding his heart.
There seems to be several variations to this story that I have come across. One version states that the sentry was in fact a knight, and the hounds of the story belonged to the knight rather than the Devil. These hounds, incidentally, are said to haunt the nearby marshes on stormy nights. Another variation on the theme says that the Devil did not tear out the mans heart until after his natural death. One point that does not seem to change though, is the part of the story which tells of the beam, which the devil threw up the hill and was incorporated into the cellar of Barn Hall, which can still be seen today. However, it would be an unwise to attempt to view it, as the "Horned One" placed a curse on the beam, so that anyone who dared to enter the cellar would receive a nasty wound!
It does seem difficult to establish how this legend came about as the story is fairly old: Barn Hall was built in 1500, and the only thing that springs to mind at present, is the knight effigy holding his heart. (Image right: Effigy of the Knight, Tolleshunt Knights from 'The ancient sepulchral monuments of Essex' by Frederic Chancellor 1890). Another variation on the theme, that I have left out up to now, concerns the stone effigy. The story goes much the same as before except that it is said that the effigy in the church was the actual sentry on duty at Devils Wood, and that the Devil, when he realised his plans of taking his soul/heart were to be thwarted, turned him into stone.References
Federation of Essex Women’s Institutes: ‘The Essex Village Book’ (Countryside Books, 2001), p.226.
Sabine Baring-Gould: ‘Mehalah’ (1881), p.138.
James Wentworth Day: ‘Here are Ghosts and Witches’ (Batsford, 1954)
First published in ASH magazine, number 1, autumn 1988.
