DSC_0060.JPG
There can be few other churches in such dominating positions as this, St Michael’s at Brentor. It stands out for miles around, stuck incongruously on top of a little pinnacle of granite. According to legend, when the parishioners started building this place, they did so at the bottom. The devil took against this new church, and decided to make their lives harder, and each night after the poor fellows had lugged the necessary rocks back to the bottom to build their church, the devil went back at night and tossed them to the top of the tor, reasoning that the congregation would never bother to visit the church at the top of such a steep hill. This continued for some days, the parishioners diligently collecting their rocks and trying to build at the base of the hill, while their indefatigable opponent eradicated all sign overnight. In the end, some say, the villagers gave up, accepted the challenge of the church on the hill, and enlisted the help of St Michael, who wrestled the devil away from their new church.
If he meant to make life impossible for the little church, he failed. Centuries on, this little church still draws a congregation each week.