We visited St Dunstan Church in Monks Risborough and he is a jolly interesting chap!
For over 200 years St Dunstan was England’s favourite saint, partly perhaps because he is said to have pulled the devil’s nose with his blacksmith’s pincers when he disguised himself as a beautiful girl in order to tempt the monk, as in this old rhyme:
St Dunstan, as the story goes,
Once pulled the devil by the nose
With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,
That he was heard three miles or more!
Another legend says that the devil returned to pester Dunstan again when he was at his forge, this time Dunstan nailed a horseshoe onto one of the devil’s cloven feet and for this reason the devil can still never bear the sight or go near a horseshoe!
Before he became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960, Dunstan worked as a blacksmith and goldsmith in his forge at Glastonbury Abbey, and he is still the patron saint of these trades – his feast day is May 19th and this is also the date from which annual hallmarks for precious metals change every year, not January 1st.
About the author: Tara
The travel professional with years of experience in the travel industry – in guiding, reservations, operations, contracting, customer service and product development – and have travelled extensively in Asia and Eastern Europe not just on holiday but also for work, inspecting hotels, visiting attractions and seeing exactly what each destination has to offer. The only way I could do this properly was with my own guide, car and driver and this inspired me to create my own range of customised private day tours for other people to be able to explore in-depth and learn to love their destination as much as I do.
Website: www.readyclickandgo.com
Website: http://www.readyclickandgo.com
