They Lived On The Edge…

John Gregg and his family called Clovelly home. Where they lived, precisely, is not known, but it is said that the ‘clan’ of perhaps fifty people lived in some caves overlooking the rocks that we now call ‘The Devils Kitchen’.

Their life as farmers, hunters, fisherman and probably thieves was a poor one…. They lived on the edge.

The 1700s were a time when Britain was on the rise and trade was very good. People all over the country were beginning to prosper and the Industrial Revolution had taken a hold. Perhaps some of these things played into what would happen to the Greggs.

As the family were barely surviving and because there was a particularly poor fishing season, it is said that John Gregg decided to rob some travellers on Dartmoor of the worldly goods…. A stagecoach robbery!

Remember… a clan of fifty were living in those caves ( 32 of Johns grandchildren lived with him). It is thought that the loot taken didn’t last long and that John and other family members resorted to stealing on a more regular basis. They became outlaws.

Their life of crime became a terrible one.

At some point the clan took some prisoners back to their caves in the clifftops of North Devon, perhaps to claim a ransom for them. Unfortunately their victims suffered an even meaner fate…….. they were eaten.

Yes, the Greggs had become twisted as human beings…. Inbreeding, poverty, violence had all helped to take them into the depths of depravity.

Over the next twenty five years…. As the story goes…. Approx a thousand victims met the same grisly fate in the caves of the Devils Kitchen, outside of Clovelly.

Eventually they were all captured and executed.

A lovely story………. No?!

But it is a story…. And it’s only a story.

There are others like this to be found in coastal areas all over the UK.

Their roots can be found in the crimes that were really taking place on a common basis. ….. smuggling and wrecking.

What better way to keep prying eyes and noses away from your illicit business activities, than to create stories, myths and legends that would frighten the bijimminy out of people.

When you travel to Devon, or Cornwall…. Wales, or Western Scotland listen out for more of these wonderful stories. They reflect a fascinating social history.

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