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Devil's Stone (Luckwell Bridge)

Natural Rock Feature

Nearest Town:Minehead (10km NNE)
OS Ref (GB):   SS914386 / Sheet: 181
Latitude:51° 8' 8.85" N
Longitude:   3° 33' 8.65" W

Added by Rhiannon


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Fieldnotes

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Visited 19.7.11

The chap I asked about St Luke's Well also knew where the Devil's Stone was – how lucky was that!

Directions: Follow the track to the left of 'The Old Chapel House'. You will then come to West Mill House and go through the wooden gate on the right. Follow the path through the field (stream on your left) and through the next wooden gate. You are now in the Devil's Stone field. 15 minute walk.
The stone is a good 'un. I large lump of quartz in the middle of the field; on the brow of a hill – lovely surroundings. I find it difficult to believe that this stone 'just happens' to be here.
I think it much more likely that it was placed in this location.
The stone itself is 1.5 metres tall x 2 metres wide.
A lovely place to sit awhile.

As for St Luke's Well:
Apparently it had dried up and was filled in back in the 1980's. I was actually parked next to where it once stood – now just a plain old grass field. Shame.
Posted by CARL
26th July 2011ce
Edited 26th July 2011ce

Folklore

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This is a massive quartz block 2m long, 1.2m wide and 1.65m high. The Somerset Historic Environment record says that the farmer of the land gives its local name as 'The Devil's Stone' and that the Devil hurled it from Dunkery Beacon. The field name is "Hour stone" which sounds suspiciously like "Hoar stone" - another quite common name for lone standing stones in England. Apparently in local tradition it was also thought of as a boundary or path stone. It looks as though it's on a direct (and old) path between two villages, and very near to where the path crosses a stream.
Despite all this hopeful folklore pointing at its importance in local consciousness, the record suggests it's probably not prehistoric. I guess it's just big. But you could go and look at it.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
13th May 2005ce
Edited 13th May 2005ce