Can you believe these malevolent London street devils were produced during the Victorian era to take revenge on a local vicar? They have been nicknamed ‘The Cornhill Devils’ and have a rather interesting tale behind them.

Legend goes that during the construction of the building at 54-55 Cornhill the architect, Ernest Augustus Runtz, accidentally infringed on a small piece of land, which was owned by the church of St Peter Upon Cornhill located next door. This in turn caused the vicar to launch a far-reaching appeal which caused a tremendous delay to the building work and an enormous amount of stress and frustration for the architect.

To spite the vicar as a finishing touch to the building Runtz added three demonic terracotta figures, as grotesque as he could make them. These were intended as a parting gift to the neighbouring clergyman and his church goers! It’s even claimed that the imp nearest the street was cast to resemble the vicar himself!

Look up to find these leering little oddities perched on the façade of 54 – 55 Cornhill in the City of London.