The Devil’s Lapstone: The gigantic boulder in Castle Eden Dene linked to Satan himself

To the south of Peterlee in the lush woodland and nature reserve known as the Castle Eden Dene, sits a large and peculiar rock by the stream. This rock has the unusual feature of a bonsai tree growing out of the top of it, giving it a unique appearance. However, anyone who knows this rock will be aware that it has a very sinister name: The Devil’s Lapstone.

The name of this rock is derived from a local legend linked to it, which as it happens involves the devil himself. It is said that when Durham Cathedral was being built in the 11th century, the devil “volunteered” to help build it and gather materials. Why would the devil offer help to build a cathedral? Because apparently, he had a plot to use old and crumbling stone in order to build flawed foundations and bring the building down.

As the legend goes, he used the Eden Dene in East Durham to gather stones and was able to fly backwards and forwards, with superhuman strength, to carry the rocks. However, he accidentally dropped one giant rock on the way back into the Dene and he was not able to recover it, scratching at it in vain and hurting himself, leaving his blood stains on it. Why this single accident led to the entire failure of his whole plot is never explained.

This rock is now known as the Devil’s Lapstone, which apparently still bears the scratch marks and the blood stains of the devil. While of course for all intents and purposes the story is nonsense, it is nonetheless believed there is some truth behind the idea the stone was in fact dragged and left there, as its shape and presence in that spot do not seem natural.