Devil
The Wizard of Aldbury
He sold his soul for gold, then vanished with his castle overnight.
See it clearly
- What's there
- A prehistoric earthwork along a woodland footpath
- Legend from
- Medieval
- Tone
- Eerie
The bank and ditch in these woods were dug, they say, by a wizard who sold his soul, and the Devil still rattles his chains here at night.
Grim's Ditch is a prehistoric earthwork that crosses the Chilterns near Tring and Berkhamsted. Its name comes from Grim, once a name for Woden and later for the Devil, but local legend says it was built by Sir Guy de Gravade, the Wizard of Aldbury. Like Faust, he sold his soul to the Devil for magical knowledge, including the secret of turning base metals into gold, until one night he and his whole castle vanished. The Devil still seems fond of the earthwork: near Hastoe Lane, and by the Potten End water tower on Berkhamsted Common, he can be heard rattling his chains.