The Curse of the Swansea Devil Statue in Swansea, Wales

Aug 1

In the past we’ve looked at curses brought about from deals with the devil, a cursed statue that contained the soul of a lost loved one, and even those brought about by witchcraft. But, can a curse be created out of anger simply by using the image of the devil?

Today we’re looking at the Swansea Devil statue, a cursed object that supposedly burned down a church.

St. Mary’s Church

Saint Mary’s church was first built in the mid-14th century in the coastal town of Swansea, Wales. Its creation received little fanfare as the country had just gone through two centuries of political upheaval and several wars for power. Worse still, shortly after St. Mary opened its doors, The Black Death arrived. In a year, almost a quarter of the population was dead.

Even as the town grew into a flourishing city, the church continued to stand with little notoriety and few enhancements for the next several centuries. If something crumbled or collapsed, like for example, the nave (central part of the church) in 1739, it was cheaply and quickly replaced.

But, the 19th century saw the Victorian Restoration sweep across the land and it was decided the entire church would be torn down and rebuilt. Bids for a new design were accepted from various architects and in 1896 Sir Arthur Blomfield’s designs were chosen.

This shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone as, by 1890, Blomfield had his designs used for over 50 other restoration/construction projects in the previous 3 decades, most of which were churches. Yet, one local architect whose design was rejected was not only just surprised; he was furious.

A Curse Out of Anger

The name of this angry architect has been forgotten to time but he took the rejection of his designs as a personal attack. For years he stewed in his anger and not much was heard from him as the church was rebuilt. But a few years after the church finally opened, the land across the street from it was up for sale, and he jumped at the opportunity.

The architect tore down the cottages and built a large red brick building facing the west side of the church. Directly in the center of the building, two stories up, he placed a specially commissioned wooden piece; the three-foot-tall Swansea Devil.

As he perched up the devil on the outside wall, witnesses claim to have heard him yell out, “When your church is destroyed and burnt to the ground, my devil will remain laughing.” Whether it was a prophecy or a curse, many didn’t take it seriously going as far as giving the statue the nickname “Old Nick”.

For years the devil watched the church, waiting for it to burn.

Then came World War II and the German military started using the terrifying tactic of blitzkrieg. As Swansea was a coastal city with access to the port and docks as well as an oil refinery nearby, it was a strategic target.

From 1940 to 1943 Swansea was bombed multiple times with the worst occurring in February of 1941, an attack that left 230 dead and almost 400 injured.

As the dust cleared and the citizens started to pick up the pieces of their city, they found St. Mary’s church had burned to the ground. To their shock, across the street from the rubble, stood the red brick house with the devil staring and smiling at the destruction.

Losing “Old Nick”

For almost two decades the land where the church once stood was empty. In 1959 construction finally began to restore the church and in 1962,‘Old Nick’s’ home across the street was torn down to make way for a shopping mall.

As for the devil, it disappeared in the dead of night… or so they thought. In 1982, after 20 years missing, historian Rowley Davies put out a request for the devil’s whereabouts in the South Wales Evening Post.

Engineer Glyn Lewis, on vacation from his work in Germany, saw the paper and remembered seeing the devil back in 1964, two years after it ‘disappeared’. He contacted Davies and directed him to a family who once ran an antique shop.

The Devil Returns

Davies met with the Rees and brought the statue back to Swansea. He was even able to have it installed in The Quadrant shopping mall where its old home used to be.

Though there was some backlash from some church-goers causing it to be moved to a different section, the Swansea Devil kept its eyes on the church.

In 2019 Old Nick moved to a new home at the Swansea Museum. These days it’s generally accepted that the statue isn’t actually cursed. The church burning down during the war was just a coincidence as opposed to prophetic.

The devil is still a piece of Swansea’s history and at the museum, it’s kept behind glass with plans to restore any damages. But, the staff at the Swansea Museum have positioned him to face in the direction of St. Mary’s church… just in case.