The Roaches – Land of the Rush

No its not the rush that you get from a drugs fix, but a demonic wind that is said to blow in these parts. Below the rocky escarpment known as the Roaches in the Staffordshire Moorlands is a silent valley where once stood a Cistercian Abbey, but now only a few ruins remain and a cave where a hermit used to live, and through this site a strong Ley-line can be found.

The Land of the Rush below the Roaches

Slightly to the North of this location is a mysterious wood called Hillswood which is said to contain a healing tree and which I have been unable to locate yet.

The area above where the Abbey once stood and which is towered over by the Roaches is known as the Land of the Rush, many people have experienced the phenomena known as the Rush, it is an invisible force which is felt and heard as it passes, and is an unforgettable experience that has been known to knock a person off their feet as it goes by. It is said that it is a re-enactment of numerous Demons hurrying to claim the soul of a Nobleman.

The Nobleman’s name was Earl Randle, and he was the ruler of the Earldom of Chester, and it was he who founded the Cistercian Abbey which was known as Dieulacresse. According to legend the Earl was a man of many pious deeds that is said to have saved his soul after death, it is said that as the Earl lay dying on his death bed a man from Wallingford saw numerous Demons rushing, so he was told to the Earl’s death bed to accuse him of his sins. It is said that as the Demons approached Swythamley hall where the Earl lay, the Mastiff dogs that the Abbot used for hunting deer in the nearby forest barked incessantly, and so it is said that the Earl was saved from hell by the constant barking of the Abbey’s hunting dogs.

It is said that the Earls body was buried at dieulacresse and that his heart was buried at Swythamley hall. Hillswood lies directly between Swythamley and Dieulacresse, and not long ago a person who was out walking one cold Winters morning was skirting Hillswood when he swears he heard the Mastiff hunting dogs barking to protect their master from the approaching Demons!