Devil's Punch Bowl
Encyclopedia
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
and beauty spot near Hindhead
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England, about 11 miles south-west of Guildford. Neighbouring settlements include Haslemere, Grayshott and Beacon Hill. Hindhead is the highest village in Surrey...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is the source of many stories about the area. The London to Portsmouth road (the A3
A3 road
The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road...
) used to climb round its side, but this is now closed due to the Hindhead Tunnel
Hindhead Tunnel
The Hindhead Tunnel is a road tunnel that opened on 29 July 2011 as part of the new Hindhead bypass for the A3 road in Surrey. It forms part of the 4 mile dual-carriageway being built to replace the last remaining stretch of single-carriageway on the London to Portsmouth road...
opening on the 27th July 2011. The land is now owned and maintained by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
as part of the "Hindhead Commons & The Devil's Punch Bowl Café" property. Hindhead Youth Hostel is located inside the bowl. Above the London to Portsmouth road lies Gibbet Hill
Gibbet Hill, Hindhead
Gibbet Hill, at Hindhead, Surrey, is a hill above the Devil's Punch Bowl, not far from the A3 London to Portsmouth road in England. It is the second highest point in Surrey after Leith Hill....
.
Etymology
The name Devil's Punch Bowl dates from at least 1768, the year that John RocqueJohn Rocque
John Rocque was a surveyor and cartographer.Rocque was born no later than 1709, since that was the year he moved to England with his parents, who were French Huguenot émigrés...
's map of the area was published. This was 18 years before the murder of the unknown sailor
Unknown Sailor
The Unknown Sailor was an anonymous seafarer murdered in September 1786 at Hindhead in Surrey, England. His murderers were hanged in chains on Gibbet Hill, Hindhead the following year.-Murder:...
on Gibbet Hill
Gibbet Hill, Hindhead
Gibbet Hill, at Hindhead, Surrey, is a hill above the Devil's Punch Bowl, not far from the A3 London to Portsmouth road in England. It is the second highest point in Surrey after Leith Hill....
so this event was clearly not the origin of the name. Prior to 1768 it was marked as "ye Bottom" on a map by John Ogilby
John Ogilby
John Ogilby was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishing his work in handsome illustrated editions.-Life:Ogilby was born in or near Killemeare in November 1600...
dated 1675. The northern end of the Bowl is known as Highcombe Bottom which exists in different variants: Hackombe Bottom, Hacham Bottom and Hackham Bottom. These variants indicate that the meaning of the name is "Hay-combe" rather than "High-combe".
Natural history
The soil in this part of Surrey has two layers — an upper layer of sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, with clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
beneath. This deep depression is believed to be the result of erosion caused by spring water beneath the sandstone, causing the upper level to collapse. With its steep sides, the Devil's Punch Bowl has become a natural nature reserve, filled with heathland, streams and woodland.
The site has abundant wildlife. Most woodland species can be seen easily - including Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is assigned to the genus Dendrocopos ....
and Redstart
Redstart
Redstarts are a group of small Old World birds. They were formerly classified in the thrush family , but are now known to be part of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae...
. It is known for being the last remaining locality of Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
in Surrey.
Local legends
Local legend has a much more colourful theory as to its creation. According to one story, during the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
became so irritated by all the churches being built in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
that he decided to dig a channel from the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, through the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
, and flood the area. As he began digging, he threw up huge lumps of earth, each of which became a local landmark — such as Chanctonbury Ring
Chanctonbury Ring
Chanctonbury Ring is a hill fort based ring of trees atop Chanctonbury Hill on the South Downs, on the border of the civil parishes of Washington and Wiston in the English county of West Sussex. A ridgeway, now part of the South Downs Way, runs along the hill...
, Cissbury Ring
Cissbury Ring
Cissbury Ring is a hill fort on the South Downs, in the borough of Worthing, and about from its town centre, in the English county of West Sussex.-Hill fort:...
, Mount Caburn
Mount Caburn
Mount Caburn is a 480-foot isolated peak, one of the highest landmarks in East Sussex, England, about one mile east of Lewes overlooking the village of Glynde. It is an isolated part of the South Downs, separated by Glynde Reach, a tributary of the River Ouse.-Enclosure:On the summit of Caburn...
and Rackham Hill. He got as far as the village of Poynings
Poynings
Poynings is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the north side of the South Downs near Devil's Dyke, five miles north-west of Brighton...
(an area known as the Devil's Dyke
Devil's Dyke, Sussex
Devil's Dyke is a V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way in southern England, near Brighton and Hove. It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation.Devil's Dyke is on the way to Brighton and is a big hill at the side of the road.-Geological history:...
) when he was disturbed by a cock crowing (one version of the story claims that it was the prayers of St Dunstan that made all the local cocks crow earlier than usual). Assuming that dawn was about to break, he leapt into Surrey, creating the Devil's Punch Bowl where he landed.
Another story goes that, in his spare time, he hurled lumps of earth at the god Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
to annoy him. The hollow he scooped the earth out of became the Punch Bowl. The local village of Thursley
Thursley
Thursley is a small village in Surrey. It lies just west of the A3 running between Milford and Hindhead. Neighbouring villages include Rushmoor, Bowlhead Green and Brook. Thursley is in south-west Surrey, in south-east England...
means Thor's place.
A still older story claims that two giants clashed in the area, and one, scooping up earth to throw at the other, created the landmark before missing the throw and creating the Isle of Wight.
Development and protected status
It is these stories, the beauty of the area and the diversity of nature it attracts that has gained the Devil's Punch Bowl the title of a Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. This status has recently helped save the Devil's Punch Bowl from above-ground redevelopment of the A3, which was needed to relieve traffic congestion in the area, as this section of the A3 was single-carriageway. The National Trust co-operated with developers who designed the twin-bore Hindhead Tunnel
Hindhead Tunnel
The Hindhead Tunnel is a road tunnel that opened on 29 July 2011 as part of the new Hindhead bypass for the A3 road in Surrey. It forms part of the 4 mile dual-carriageway being built to replace the last remaining stretch of single-carriageway on the London to Portsmouth road...
, running underneath the surrounding area. The tunnel preserves not only the area from the road widening originally proposed but also removes the heavy traffic congestion which previously affected this section of the A3 in peak hours. The old A3 road, apart from a small stub to the National Trust cafe, is to be removed and the land reinstated.
In fiction
Punch Bowl Farm, at the northern end of the Devil's Punch Bowl, was the home of children's novelist Monica EdwardsMonica Edwards
Monica Edwards was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels.-Early life:...
from 1947 until the early 1970s. In her books she renamed the farm Punchbowl Farm. Edwards also wrote about the area, including her years of observation of badger families, in her various volumes of memoirs.
Trivia
The Devil's Punch Bowl was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural WondersSeven Natural Wonders
Seven Natural Wonders was a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme took an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, showed the 'seven natural wonders' of that area in a programme.The programmes were:The series...
as one of the wonders of the South.
The third novel in the Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
series, Flying Colours by C.S. Forester, makes a one-line reference to the Devil's Punch Bowl in chapter eighteen as Hornblower is returning to London: "Even the marvellous beauty of the Devil's Punch Bowl was lost on Hornblower as they drove past it."
See also
- Cheesefoot HeadCheesefoot HeadCheesefoot Head is a large natural amphitheatre and beauty spot just outside Winchester, England. It is situated on the A272 road , and is rated a Site of Special Scientific Interest...
- Devil's Jumps, ChurtDevil's Jumps, ChurtThe Devil's Jumps are a series of three small hills near the village of Churt in the county of Surrey in southern England. In the 18th century the hills were known as the Devil's Three Jumps. The Devil's Jumps are linked to a body of folklore relating to the surrounding area. The highest of the...
- Hindhead TunnelHindhead TunnelThe Hindhead Tunnel is a road tunnel that opened on 29 July 2011 as part of the new Hindhead bypass for the A3 road in Surrey. It forms part of the 4 mile dual-carriageway being built to replace the last remaining stretch of single-carriageway on the London to Portsmouth road...
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey