On the last Wednesday of every month Wessex Archaeology have been holding open, outreach, talks at The Arts Centre at St Edmund’s. Relaxed gatherings over coffee, these have become increasingly popular.
By chance, several Museum Volunteers attended last week, one of them was Mary Crane. She writes, “..we were told the following tale…:
Legend has it that the Devil decided he wanted to annihilate the town of Marlborough! One night he collected a pile of earth and set off to do the dreadful deed. The Devil of course, only works at night, and must flee when the dawn comes.
Fortunately the monks at the abbey in Marlborough heard that the Devil was approaching and they hatched a clever plan to defend the town. They took one of their cockerels from the barn and lit a candle beside it. The bird was fooled into thinking dawn was breaking, and began to crow loudly.
The Devil heard the cock crow and assumed it was daybreak. Panicked, he dropped his load of earth well short of Marlborough and fled from whence he came. Marlborough was saved.
This is, of course, a true story and we have the proof, for the pile of earth remained, and we know it as Silbury Hill!”
Mary goes on to say, “You may have know this folk tale but I have never heard it before.”
Neither have I ! Thanks to Wessex Archaeology and Mary Crane.
This photo of Silbury is from a blog called Haunted Wiltshire
Post script: The Arts Centre has recently closed for all but occasional evening events. A short-term state of affairs we hope. Meanwhile, Wessex Archaeology will be looking for a new venue for their outreach talks. We will try to keep readers informed.