Devil
The Devil's Jumps
Three mighty leaps, and one player gone for good.
See it clearly
- What's there
- A stone stump, and a church with a separate tower
- Legend from
- Recorded 1873
- Tone
- Eerie
Near here is the Devil's Toenail, a lone stone marking the spot where the Devil landed after leaping from Marston's church tower.
Marston Moretaine's church has a tower standing apart from the nave, and locals once said the Devil tried to carry it off but found it too heavy and dropped it. A second tale explains a lone stone south of the village called the Devil's Toenail. Young men playing a leaping game called jumps on the Sabbath were joined by a stranger whose leaps were impossible: from the church tower to the stone in one bound. He seized one of the players and leapt with him straight into Hell, in some versions vanishing in blue flame. A nearby inn was named The Jumps. The stone, probably the stump of a medieval cross, is now listed.