The Devil’s gone down to Jackfield.

Shropshire is the Devil’s county- if we are to believe the local Folklore. Indeed, when we turn to such stories, we see that Shropshire is an area Satan has quite the proclivity for, with his exploits covering the length and breadth of the region. Here the Devil is referred to in familiar terms, with Epithets such as ‘Owd Nick, Owd Scratch and Owd Mon’ used to describe him. These appellations portray a stark familiarity and provide personhood to the forces the Devil has come to represent. No more are concepts such as evil, pain, death, and wrongdoing unquantifiable and hard to understand, instead they become a creature not unlike us. Satan is a personification of all of our fears, a tool to help us understand. To personify Satan is to accept that he is a living entity with an active will, who can influence and shape the world around us. This is a theme found frequently in Folklore, with a wealth of stories discussing Satan’s impact on small communities or society.  As well as being the originator of evil, Owd Scratch is also a conduit for everything a community, or individual rejects so is thus synonymous with temptation, and the art of resisting such temptation. When Satan came to tempt St Justina of Antioch, she was able to resist artfully- by making the sign of the cross and blowing in his face, causing him to melt like a candle. However not many can have such poise when faced with enticement. Therefore, we see a number of stories portraying the constant battle against the temptations He has come to represent, such as sex, wealth, drinking and gambling. There is also an element of the trickster in the Devils depiction in folklore, perhaps eluding to earlier pre-Christian tales. There is hope in these stories though- as we shall see when the Devil came to Jackfield. Humans may be at risk from such forces, but they can be thwarted. He is powerful, and an agent of miscontent, but the Devil can be undone by seemingly common folk, which reminds us I think, to keep going, keep fighting and to understand we can overcome negative influences in our life.

As I have said previously, there are a number of stories I could have discussed regarding the Devil’s time in Shropshire, but I want to tell you about the time that Owd Scratch went to the pub. We’ve been to Jackfield before, the little village downriver from Ironbridge, so we will be familiar with its landscape and layout. We know the way the river twists through the area and on its banks ghost children still play. We’re at the mercy of nature here, with the Severn being unpredictable and prone to bursting its banks. In the eastern part of Jackfield, in an area known as ‘The Tuckies’ there is a pub called The Boat Inn. Here the flood levels have been recorded on the doorway for generations, I still get that sense of childlike fascination whenever I see just how far the water can go, and how much it can take with it. Our story concerns the Boat inn, and the night the Devil paid a visit.

Our story begins on one of those long, winter nights on the build up to Christmas, when the veil is shadowy and thin. The Boat Inn was full that night, as people were winding down for their festivities, and the pub was lively with the hum of merriment. It was then that the stranger walked in, swinging the heavy door open, and standing in the doorway. The locals quickly noticed that he wasn’t from the area, and he certainly seemed curious. His attire was dark and fine, far finer than anything they’d seen before, and somehow marked him as different, it was as if he belonged to a distant place or time. He sat at the bar for a while, exchanging pleasantries with the barmaids, making them laugh and giggle freely as he drank. Soon he began to work his way around the room, chatting without restrictions, and imploring the locals to play a game of cards with him. Some refused openly, stating they’d come for a quiet drink, or they didn’t know how to play, or didn’t want to. This was when the stranger began to tempt them with money and gold, opening his coin purse to display vast quantities of cash. Obviously, this turned a few heads, and some of the younger men agreed to play, what the stranger termed to be ‘the most enthralling game of their lives’. So, the younger men played cards with the stranger, gambling away their wages and quickly lost their games.

But this only seemed to inspire the stranger further, he walked the room with purpose seeking out people to indulge him in his games. This time, he whispered of elaborate promises, of anything your heart could desire, and of course, a few more men decided to take him up on the offer. The ale had dulled their senses after all, and because of this, it wasn’t much of a match. Laughing the stranger got more unruly betting than no man in that pub could beat him.

One of the local men had come to the Boat Inn to try and enjoy a quiet pint and was quite annoyed by the whole affair. He was a gruff man and liked his own company.  He realised the only way he could rid himself of the stranger would be to challenge him, and win. So, he stood up and shouted over to the stranger ‘I will give you a game’ and soon the two began to play.

The two men played for some time, both evenly matched, much to the frustration of the stranger. He began to get clumsy and slammed his cards down on the table when it came to his turn. Whilst doing this, he dropped one of the cards on the floor. He scrambled to pick it up, but before he could the man had reached down. Upon reaching for the card, the local man saw two great cloven hooves under the table. He recoiled in horror, shocked at the image he was seeing before him. He’d been playing cards with the Devil! Before he could even shout out a great gust of wind raged through the pub, blowing the heavy doors open and making the walls shake from the impact! This wind was so strong that it swept the Devil out laughing, leaving the revellers shocked and stunned.

One can only assume that had the games continued, the souls of those in the Boat Inn may have been at stake, as the devil is a prolific gambler, who only bets with the highest stakes.