The Devil’s Door in Ditchling

What do St Margaret’s Church in Ditchling and William Friedkin’s 1973 horror masterpiece The Exorcist have in common?

The Church of St Margaret of Antioch dates back to the 12^th Century, and was built over the older Saxon church that once stood on the same spot. It is a beautiful and ancient building, and one of a myriad of stories which have built up around it over the centuries is connected with the door on the north side of the church, which is known by some as “the devil’s door”.

At one point in time, baptism was a very serious and sacred rite. In Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles, it is of paramount importance that Tess’ baby is baptised before he dies, as otherwise the church will not allow him to be buried on holy ground and his soul will be damned for eternity. When a child is baptised, their forehead is anointed with water; if the infant takes affront at this familiarity and objects to the cold water, an old belief held that its cries signified the devil surrendering its grip on the baby’s soul. Of course, one would not want the devil roaming freely about a church, so during a baptism service, the north door of a church would be left open so to allow the devil an easy exit.

There are a lot of conflicting theories about the provenance of these beliefs. A lot of devil’s doors are now bricked up, and it was thought that this was to stop the devil returning into the church – but the practicalities of having a perpetually open door in a church buffeted by England’s famously inclement climate might suggest that draughts rather than the devil were the real consideration. Another theory is that they were bricked up after the English Civil War in an attempt by the Puritans to quell this kind of superstition. Certain directions are often associated with evil, and the north side of a church was thought to be unconsecrated, which might also be where this story comes from.

We might not know for sure about the truth behind the devil’s doors, but it is certainly a fantastic tale, and a worthy addition to the history and folklore surrounding England’s magnificent churches.

by Alice Smales