Most travellers to the West know queer little Brent Tor, that isolated
church-crowned peak that stands up defiantly a mile or two from Lydford,
seeming, as it were, a sentry watching the West for grim Dartmoor that
rises twice its height behind it. Burnt Tor, they say, was the old name
of this peak, because, seen from a distance, the brave little mountain
resembles a flame bursting upwards from the earth. Others--with less
imagination and perhaps more knowledge--would have us believe that Brent
Tor was once a volcano, and that it really did burn in ages long since.
But the old folk of the neighbourhood care less for the name of their
Tor than for the strange story of the church that crowns its summit.
Ever so long ago, they will tell you, the good folk of the lower lands
around the foot of the hill decided to build themselves a church. They
had long needed one; so long that the Devil, who roamed about Dartmoor,
had begun to consider that such an irreligious community was surely
marked down for his own.
That is why, when he came upon the people one day setting to work to
build a church, he was overcome with fury.
But he seems to have thought it all out carefully, and to have decided
to let them go on for a while, and so, week after week, at the foot of
Brent Tor, the little church grew.
At last it was finished, and the good folk were preparing great
festivities for its dedication when, during one dark autumn night, the
church disappeared.
In the greatest distress they bemoaned their sad plight, but they were
quick to attribute the evil action to the Prince of Darkness, and to
show him that they were not to be intimidated they decided to begin at
once to build another church. Throughout the day they made their plans,
and retired to rest that night determined to start on their pious work
next morning.
But when they woke in the morning they saw with amazement their own
church perched high on the hill above them. The Devil had stolen it, and
to mock the villagers had replaced it on the hilltop, where, he thought,
having dominion over the powers of the air, he would be able to defeat
their designs.
The people, however, thought otherwise. They sent in haste for the
nearest bishop, and with him proceeded to the top of Brent Tor. And,
since St. Michael looks after hilltops, to him they dedicated their
church.
Hardly had the service finished when the Devil, passing by, looked in
to jeer, as he thought, at the foolish folk he had deceived. But on the
summit of the Tor he met St. Michael.
The Archangel fell upon the Evil One and tumbled him straightway down
the hill; then, to make sure of his discomfiture, hurled a huge rock
after him. And there at the base of Brent Tor you may see the very rock
to this day.
If you climb to the top of the hill you will get, on a fine day, one of
the most beautiful views in the West. On one side is Dartmoor in all its
rugged glory; on the other, distant, blue and mysterious, the uplands
of the Bodmin moors.
Lydford, from which you can best reach Brent Tor, is famous for its wild
gorge. It stands on the edge of Dartmoor itself, and from it country of
wonderful beauty may easily be reached. All around are hills and
heather-carpeted moorland; yet a short railway journey will take you
from this far-away village to busy Plymouth, Okehampton, or Launceston,
the border town of Cornwall.
Here, where winds sweep from any direction across great wastes of moor,
or from the sea, health and quiet are to be found more easily than in
any popular holiday resort or fashionable spa.
[Illustration: _Brent Tor Church_]
[Illustration]