In Sussex, England, you will find Chanctonbury Ring—a place rich in history, legend, and the traditions of witchcraft. For centuries, this ancient hilltop has been one of the most respected gathering spots for Sussex witches, and its stories are deeply woven into local folklore.
Chanctonbury Ring stands out as a green, rounded hill above the South Downs. At its top, you’ll see a group of beech trees, which many people think are the “ring.” However, these trees were planted in the eighteenth century by Charles Goring, a local landowner. The real “ring” is much older: it is a prehistoric earthwork—a circular bank and ditch—dating back to the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age. Although time has softened its shape, you can still spot traces of this ancient enclosure if you look closely.
The importance of the Ring goes beyond its appearance. It is a place where history, legend, and the supernatural come together. Locals call it “Mother Goring,” a name that suggests its nurturing and protective spirit. In the past, villagers would climb the hill on May Day morning to watch the sunrise. This tradition was believed to bring good luck and mark the change of seasons. It reflects ancient pagan celebrations of fertility, renewal, and the land’s power.
Many legends surround Chanctonbury Ring. One of the most famous is the story of the ghostly horseman. On certain nights, people say you can hear phantom hoofbeats and see a shadowy rider gallop across the hill before disappearing into the mist. Stories like this have helped build the Ring’s reputation as a place where the boundary between worlds is thin.
However, it is the legend of witchcraft that most strongly shapes Chanctonbury’s mystery. According to local tales, if you visit the Ring at midnight and run around it seven times, the Devil will appear and offer you food or drink—often described as a simple bowl of soup, perhaps a nod to the witches’ cauldron. The story warns that if you accept, you are bound to him forever. This cautionary tale shows the deep fears and fascination with witchcraft in rural England.
The link between Chanctonbury Ring and witches’ Sabbats is clear. Watching the sunrise on May morning is closely tied to the ancient festival of Beltane, or Walpurgis Night—one of the four major Sabbats in the witch’s calendar. Greeting the dawn at the Ring was a ritual of transformation, marking the shift from darkness to light, and from winter to summer.
In recent years, archaeologists have found evidence that Chanctonbury Ring was once the site of a Romano-British temple, which further proves its long-standing sacred status. Over the centuries, this hilltop has been a sanctuary for pagan gods, a meeting place for witches, and a spiritual center for the local community.
Today, Chanctonbury Ring remains a symbol of resilience and mystery. The echoes of ancient rituals, the whispers of legend, and the spirit of the land continue to inspire everyone who visits and seeks its secrets.
