Cornhill is one of the oldest streets in London, originally laid out as a Roman road and later reshaped as a medieval market street before becoming part of the modern financial district. Amid the glass towers and banking façades, one of its most unusual survivals sits high above street level: the Cornhill Devils.
Perched on the façade of 54–55 Cornhill, these Victorian grotesques grin down at passers-by with exaggerated, almost theatrical expressions. Their curled tongues, bulging eyes, and clawed forms give the impression of mischief frozen in stone. They are easy to miss entirely unless you look up, but once seen, they are hard to forget!
The building itself is a strong example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, a style that embraced medieval ornament, pointed arches, and decorative stonework. The Devils act as purely decorative grotesques rather than functional gargoyles. In traditional Gothic architecture, such figures were often believed to ward off evil, although here they seem more playful than protective.
Local legend adds a sharper edge to their presence. It is said that during construction, architect Ernest Augustus Runtz became embroiled in a dispute with the neighbouring church of St Peter-upon-Cornhill over a boundary issue. In response, he is believed to have added the three demonic figures to the building as a deliberate act of architectural spite (possibly even modelling one on the opposing vicar himself). Whether true or not, the story has become inseparable from the carvings.
Today, they remain one of the City’s most easily overlooked curiosities. Most people pass beneath them without noticing, but those who look up find a small pocket of Victorian imagination staring back.
Top 5 interesting facts:
They were carved by a stonemason known for theatrical grotesques.
Cornhill once had a medieval “punishment post” directly beneath the Devils.
The building originally housed an insurance company obsessed with fire symbolism.
The Devils sit opposite a site long associated with hidden Roman remains.
Cornhill was once home to a medieval “Devil’s Tavern” in the 17th century.
