Madgy Figgy's Chair

Lore & Background

Madgy Figgy is a figure from Cornish folklore, a witch who lived in St Levan and led a large group of witches and men who indulged in wrecking. She was believed to sit in a granite rock formation known as Madgy Figgy's Chair, which sits atop a tower of granite blocks called the Chair Ladder, to conjure up storms that would wreck ships so their cargo could be plundered.

One story about Figgy involves the cursed treasure from the body of a Portuguese woman washed ashore from a wreck. A curse mark on the body caused the rest of the gang to refuse to touch her valuables. Later, a blue light appeared over Madgy Figgy's Chair and traveled to where she had stored the treasure in her house. After several days, an African man who spoke no English followed the light and found the treasure. He retrieved some personal items of the woman but left the valuables, and though he could not speak to Figgy, he made it clear the woman meant something to him and rewarded Figgy for holding on to her things.

Another story involves a pig belonging to her neighbor Tom Trenoworth. Figgy tried to buy the pig for much less than it was worth, but Tom refused. Figgy caused the pig to go out of control while Tom was taking it to market, and it got stuck under Tregenebris bridge. When Figgy turned up, Tom, now hungry, gave her the pig in exchange for a loaf of bread if she could get it out. She did so by calling 'cheat! cheat! cheat!' to it.

Reader's Guide

Madgy Figgy's Chair is a notable landmark in Cornish folklore, linking a physical granite formation to tales of witchcraft and maritime predation. The chair itself, a natural rock shaped like a seat atop a tower of blocks, serves as a tangible anchor for stories that blend supernatural agency with the historical practice of wrecking—the deliberate luring of ships to shore for plunder. Figgy's role as a witch who conjures storms from this spot reflects a common folk motif of the witch as a cause of natural disasters, while the stories of the cursed Portuguese woman's treasure and the pig with Tom Trenoworth add layers of moral complexity and local humor. The site's persistence in popular culture, including a beer named 'Figgy's Brew' by Skinner's Brewery and a children's book adaptation of the pig story, demonstrates its enduring appeal. The chair remains a point of interest for those exploring Cornish mythology, offering a concrete location where legend and landscape intersect.

Did You Know?

• A blue light was said to appear over Madgy Figgy's Chair and travel to where she had stored treasure from a Portuguese woman's body.
• Skinner's Brewery named a beer 'Figgy's Brew' after Madgy Figgy.
• A children's book version of Madgy Figgy's Pig was written by Will Coleman and illustrated by Jago in 2005.