Devil's Point

There are several theories on the origin of the name Devil's Point; one suggests that it an abbreviated corruption of the name of a prominent family of early Plymouth landowners, the Valletorts - thus we have De Val's Point. however the name Devil's Point or anything like it, does not appear on any map until well after the Valletort era.

The second theory, perhaps the most plausible, is that the name was associated with the Devil himself, the waters off this point are undoubtedly treacherous, lives have been lost here and there are examples all of the world of accident black spots being linked with the Prince of Darkness - Devil's Throat (Cromer Bay), Devil's Elbow (Dartmoor), and Devil's Current (Greece).

One further theory suggests that the name is linked with a French Huguenot refugee, Monsieur Duval, who, with several compatriots, settled in Stonehouse over 300 years ago, but this too seems unlikely.

EH 10 June 1995