#79 The Skirrid / Ysgyryd Fawr

The Skirrid is known locally as ‘the Holy Mountain’. This may have come from two sources. The first is the now-ruined chapel of St Michael’s on the summit, which was used by Roman Catholics after the Reformation. The second is from a popular legend, which tells how the dramatic landslide on the north of the mountain was caused by an earthquake or lightning strike at the moment of the crucifixion of Jesus. There was a local tradition that earth from the Skirrid was holy and especially fertile, and it was taken away to be scattered on fields, on coffins, and in the foundations of churches. Pilgrimages were made to the summit, especially on Michaelmas Eve. A local story tells of a giant known as Jack O’Kent who had an argument with the Devil over which was bigger, the Sugar Loaf or the Malvern Hills across the border. Jack’s argument that the Sugar Loaf was bigger proved to be right. In his disgust the Devil collected a huge apron of soil to tip over the Malvern Hills to make them higher. But just as he was crossing the Skirrid the apron strings broke, dumping the soil on the Skirrid and forming the tump at the northern end.