Thursday, October 29, 2009

Roche Rock, Cornwall

This is Roche Rock, which I visited on the 17th of October during a trip to Cornwall. A DAY trip. Yes, we drove to Cornwall and back in one day. Him indoors was playing a gig with another band, so it was 6 hours there, play gig, 6 hours back. I did get to see some lovely countryside on the journey, and a glimpse of Jamaica Inn, where I have always wanted to go. One day...one day.
Anyway, I did get to see Roche Roche Rock properly. The Fortean Times has this to say:

The ruined chapel on the summit of the Rock's centre crag was dedicated to St Michael in 1409, but you can't help thinking that the Rock would have had religious or sacred connections from more ancient times, even though, unlike Cornwall's many megaliths, this blob-like structure is an entirely natural phenomenon.

And

Famous Cornish 17th-century bad man, the cursed Tregeagle (see FT198:40–41), was chased to the Rock by a pack of headless hellhounds. The crooked ex-magistrate had previously been sent to the underworld for his wrongdoings, including robbing an orphan of his estate, but was needed back on Earth when another court case required him as a witness. Tregeagle's ghost promptly appeared and admitted his guilt, effectively saving an innocent man from conviction. The court took pity on his troubled soul, and ordered him to carry out arduous and imposs-ible tasks so his return to Hell would be delayed indefinitely. His first duty was to empty the waters of Dozmary pool using a shell with a hole in it. Understandably tiring of the task, Tregeagle did a runner one stormy night, fleeing to the sanctuary of Roche Rock. Unfortunately, he got wedged in the chapel window and his pursuers, the headless hounds of Hell, got their fangs – there appears to be a bit of an inconsistency here – into Tregeagle's backside. For an unspecified period of time, Tregeagle's screams rang out, terr-ify-ing the chapel priest just as much as the priest's praying terrified Tregeagle. Eventually, the priest saved the beleaguered Hell-dodger and sent him to a beach to make a rope out of sand. :)
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