22:
65:
124:). The deal was that if the devil ever found him asleep in church, he could have his soul. Jan was said to have fallen asleep during the service that day, with his pack of cards in his hand. Another version of the legend states that the Devil arrived to collect the souls of four people playing cards during the church service.
72:
Written accounts by eyewitnesses, apparently published within months of the catastrophe, tell of a strange darkness, powerful thunder, and "a great ball of fire" ripping through a window and tearing part of the roof open. It is said to have rebounded through the church, killing some members of the
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Robert Mead struck a pillar so hard that it left an indentation; his skull was shattered, and his brain hurled to the ground. A "one Master Hill a
Gentleman of good account in the Parish" was thrown violently against a wall and died "that night". His son, sitting next to him, was unhurt.
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The devil tethered his horse to one of the pinnacles at
Widecombe Church, captured the sleeping Jan Reynolds, and rode away into the storm. As they flew over nearby Birch Tor, the four aces from Jan's pack of cards fell to the ground, and today, if you stand at
135:, and it hissed as it went down his throat. He finished his drink, put the mug down on the bar where it left a scorch mark, and left some money. After the stranger had ridden away, the landlady found that the coins had turned to dried leaves.
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The village schoolmaster of the time, a gentleman called Roger Hill, and brother of the deceased "Master Hill", recorded the incident in a rhyming testament which is still displayed on boards (originals replaced in 1786) in the church.
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A second and most exact relation of those sad and lamentable
Accidents, which happened in and about the Parish Church of Widecombe neere the Dartmoores in Devonshire, on Sunday the 21. of October last 1638.
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56:. An afternoon service was taking place at the time, and the building was packed with approximately 300 worshippers. Four of them were killed, around 60 injured, and the building severely damaged.
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The devil supposedly headed for
Widecombe via the Tavistock Inn, in nearby Poundsgate, where he stopped for directions and refreshment. The landlady reported a visit by a man in black with
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Some are said to have suffered burns to their bodies, but not their clothes. A dog is reported to have run out of the door, been hurled around as if by a small
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A trve relation of those strange and lamentable
Accidents happening in the Parish Church of Widecombe in Devonshire, on Sunday the 21. of October, 1638.
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who had made a pact with a local card player and gambler called Jan
Reynolds (or Bobby Read, according to the tale recorded at the
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congregation and burning many others. This is considered by some to be one of the earliest recorded instances of
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178:, Wykes and Rothwell, G.M. and R. Harford, London 1638, later reprinted in Devon Notes and Queries, Vol III,
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and the linen next her body, and her body, burnt in a very pitiful manner". The head of local
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A version of the legend and a shorter account of the disaster also appears in
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According to local legend, the thunderstorm was the result of a visit by the
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minister, George Lyde, was unhurt, but his wife "had her
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riding a jet black horse. The stranger ordered a mug of
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44:, took place on Sunday, 21 October 1638, when the
182:1906 and republished with supplementary notes by
153:List of natural disasters in Britain and Ireland
230:An Exploration of Dartmoor and its Antiquities
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8:
263:
249:
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16:1638 weather event in Dartmoor, England
7:
68:The tower of Widecombe church, 1983
25:A contemporary woodcut of the storm
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100:, and fallen dead to the ground.
228:Page, John Lloyd Warden (1895).
301:United Kingdom weather records
1:
296:Drought in the United Kingdom
284:Climate of the United Kingdom
209:. www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk
707:North Sea and Irish Sea 2013
207:"Jan Reynolds and the Devil"
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725:Widecombe-in-the-Moor 1638
552:Holmfirth 1738, 1777, 1944
1378:Weather events in England
1303:
324:Buachaille Etive Mòr 2009
279:
48:was apparently struck by
1383:17th-century meteorology
232:(4th ed.). London:
619:Somerset Levels 2013–14
557:North East England 1771
1373:1638 natural disasters
597:November–December 2009
271:Weather events in the
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30:The Great Thunderstorm
26:
190:1996 (revised 1997).
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34:Widecombe-in-the-Moor
24:
639:Yorkshire Dales 2019
542:Bristol Channel 1607
519:Yorkshire Dales 2019
236:. pp. 214, 298.
46:church of St Pancras
1368:History of Dartmoor
1330: /
412:February–March 2018
234:Seeley & Co Ltd
60:Eyewitness accounts
753:Great Malvern 1761
672:South England 1287
577:South England 1968
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42:Kingdom of England
27:
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1262:April–August 2022
1252:February–May 2019
1083:Windstorm seasons
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1334:50.577°N 3.811°W
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52:during a severe
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1257:Wareham 2020
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943:January 2014
928:October 2013
923:January 2012
910:
904:January 2007
891:
885:January 1990
880:October 1987
872:
866:January 1976
861:January 1968
848:
837:October 1881
822:October 1859
812:January 1839
778:October 2022
758:October 1913
724:
664:Storm surges
514:Morpeth 2008
504:Glasgow 2002
481:Flash floods
468:
467:March 2023 (
459:
458:March 2018 (
443:January 1995
428:January 1881
387:October 2008
229:
211:. Retrieved
192:Google Books
175:
171:
167:
137:
126:
111:
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95:
79:
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54:thunderstorm
29:
28:
18:
1337: /
1247:Summer 2018
817:August 1848
773:London 2006
748:London 1091
682:Thames 1928
644:Summer 2022
592:August 2008
587:Summer 2007
582:Autumn 2000
572:Thames 1947
567:Thames 1928
524:London 2021
421:Snow events
407:Spring 2013
129:cloven feet
1352:Categories
1322:50°34′37″N
794:hurricanes
788:Windstorms
547:Trent 1683
489:Louth 1920
453:March 2013
438:April 1981
433:March 1891
334:Cold snaps
319:Lewes 1836
311:Avalanches
159:References
122:Poundsgate
108:The legend
1325:3°48′40″W
1305:Disputed
1239:Wildfires
1143:Heatwaves
740:Tornadoes
730:July 1968
629:June 2016
1148:Droughts
213:14 March
188:Plymouth
147:See also
90:warrener
82:Anglican
38:Dartmoor
1307:tsunami
1130:2023–24
1125:2022–23
1120:2021–22
1115:2020–21
1110:2019–20
1105:2018–19
1100:2017–18
1095:2016–17
1090:2015–16
1009:Lorenzo
1000:Eleanor
991:Ophelia
973:Desmond
964:Abigail
955:Gonzalo
873:Charley
792:former
609:2012–13
397:2010–11
392:2009–10
382:1990–91
372:1985–86
367:1981–82
362:1962–63
357:1946–47
352:1894–95
342:1683–84
98:tornado
1072:Ciarán
1054:Eunice
1027:Dennis
849:Debbie
534:Floods
469:Larisa
180:Exeter
1283:Other
1063:Babet
1045:Barra
1018:Ciara
911:Katia
114:devil
1229:2022
1224:2021
1219:2019
1214:2018
1209:2013
1204:2006
1199:2003
1194:1995
1189:1990
1184:1976
1179:1955
1174:1911
1169:1906
1164:1808
1159:1757
1036:Alex
892:Lili
654:2024
649:2023
460:Emma
377:1987
347:1709
215:2008
174:and
86:ruff
80:The
982:Eva
790:and
133:ale
36:in
32:of
1354::
198:^
186:,
120:,
77:.
40:,
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462:)
264:e
257:t
250:v
217:.
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