Roche

What chiefly brings people to this unassuming place lies not in Roche but to the southwest on the granite outcrop of Roche Rock. Unlike Cornwall’s many megaliths, this blob-like structure is an entirely natural phenomenon. The ruined chapel on the summit of the Rock’s centre crag was dedicated to St Michael in 1409, ; a feat of medieval engineering, the two-storey Hermitage has, remarkably, stood the test of time.

The rock is connected to the Arthurian legend of Tristan and Iseult (Isolde). Tristan was King Mark’s nephew who accidentally shared a love potion with King Mark’s intended queen Iseult, resulting in Tristan and Iseult falling hopelessly in love. It was here, in Ogrin’s Chapel, that the lovers found refuge from King Mark of Cornwall. Roche Rock is also associated with the legendary Cornish scoundrel, Jan Tregeagle (see also Bolventor), who attempted to seek sanctuary in the chapel while being pursued across the moors by a pack of headless hounds.

The visual peculiarities of Roche Rock have continued to exert a hellish fascination, even in recent years: some of The Omen – The Final Conflict was filmed here. Specifically, the scene in which a group of priests ambush someone whom they believe to be Antichrist Damien Thorne.

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