The Goldstone legend

Legend says that the formation of Devil's Dyke, a valley in the South Downs near Brighton, was the work of the Devil who was outraged by the number of people converting to Christianity within the Weald and so decided to dig a trench that would cause the sea to flood their local churches. During this process he stubbed his toe on the Goldstone and in a fit of rage kicked it over the hill. Its landing spot was named Goldstone Valley after the stone that features flecks of gold within its surface.

Other stories that arose in the early 19th century tell of the stone being a sacred Druid artefact that attracted large numbers of people to the stone's site. This caused the farmer Mr. William Marsh Rigden whose land was home to the stone, some significant upset as his crops were constantly being trampled by visitors. Eventually by the 1830's he became so tired of it that he buried the stone, and it wasn't uncovered again until 1900 when William Hollamby discovered its location. In 1906 the stone and several smaller stones were moved to Hove Park where they can still be seen today.

The Goldstone in Hove Park (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)