It was an act of maritime wickedness performed off the Angus coast that would ultimately cost a medieval pirate his ship and his life.
John Gedy, the 14th century abbot of Arbroath Abbey had ordered a bell on a raft be attached to the Inchcape Rock, around 11 miles off the Angus coast, to warn mariners of the dangerous sandstone reef, through wind and tide.
However, according to legend, in an act of spite against the abbot, the chain holding the raft was cut by Sir Ralph the Rover as he sailed from Arbroath – an act that would ultimately be his undoing.
Years later, returning with the spoils of his trade, with no bell to warn him, Sir Ralph’s ship ran aground on the rock, killing the pirate.
An epic poem detailing the story says the last thing Sir Ralph heard as he sank, was a sound as though the Devil was tolling the bell on the sea bed.
As next year’s 220th anniversary of the first publication of Robert Southey’s poem approaches, calls are being made to mark the event and highlight two of the area’s most important features.
Chairman of the Arbroath 2020 Committee, Harry Simpson, said the anniversary could be an excellent way of continuing the celebrations that mark the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath which have been postponed until next year.
He said: “The year of the light in 2011, which marked the bicentenary of the Bell Rock lighthouse first being illuminated, was hugely successful and attracted considerable interest.
“Once the coronavirus pandemic is over we will have to look at how we attract people back to the area.
“Celebrating a story that combines the famous Bell Rock and Arbroath abbey after the postponed 2020 programme of events could certainly be a way of doing that.
“It’s something that I am sure the 2020 committee would back.”
The idea has won the support of Angus Council’s convener of children and learning, Derek Wann.
The Arbroath East and Lunan Conservative councillor said a celebration of the story would be “a fantastic learning opportunity” for school pupils in the area.
He said: “When the time comes, I think this could be an outstanding opportunity to highlight the rich heritage we enjoy in Arbroath and Angus, as well providing an excellent project in schools, especially as the bell was an early technology that preceded, by some centuries, the construction of the world-famous lighthouse.”
