About the Three Hares Symbol

 This fascinating and ancient symbol of three hares, or rabbits, running in a circle and joined by their ears, which forms a triangular shape, giving the illusion that each hare has two ears when in fact they only have one, has been discovered in various places all over the world but is particularly prevalent in Devonshire where there are seventeen parish churches containing at least one carved roof boss of this symbol, plus other places where the image is depicted in plaster and glass.
The symbol that I have created for Devon's Nature In Art is entirely unique. I wanted something to depict the nature of Devon and the three hares seemed the perfect choice with their beauty and wild and magical history and also their special link with Chagford and the moors.
I have painted the border to look as if it was made from the lichen covered granite of the moors and also painted four different scenes behind the running hares. For the winter scene I have chosen a view of the ancient leaning cross on Week Down. Spring shows the tall spire of the church at Widecombe In The Moor peeping out from the freshly leaved trees. For summer I have chosen the heather clad Prestonbury Hill Fort above the beautiful Fingle Bridge and for autumn a distant view of Haytor as seen from Meldon Common. I have placed the whole symbol on the newly created Devon flag with it's green colour of the Devon fields and black granite of the moors.
In fact the hare was quite instrumental in our coming to Chagford. We had been having a long and difficult time trying to sell our home in France but on the very day we had an offer on the house we saw two hares which hopped to within a few feet of us and stayed there for some time.We took this for a sign of luck and for the eight long months it took for the sale to go through hardly a day passed without us seeing at least one hare. During this time we searched for a new gallery and home in England but nothing was quite right. In the end I said to my husband ' We will know we've found the right place when we see a symbol of a hare there'. To my surprise the gallery at Chagford came on the market. It was the perfect spot and a place I had known for many years. I had even exhibited my work in there many years before. I had not realised Chagford's connection with hares so when I discovered this I knew we had found the right place and the right home for Devon's Nature In Art.
Now back to the hare. The hare has long been associated with mythology but it's link with the Christian church may have come about as it was previously thought to be an hermaphrodite and therefore could procreate without a mate and so it was linked with the Virgin Mary. There are two bosses carved with the hare symbol in the church at Chagford.
It is thought to be sign of good luck and has been linked to Dartmoor legends and superstitions for centuries. It's legend lives on in place names; there is Hare Tor; Haresfoot Cross and Harepath.
There is the well known legend of Old Moll of Chagford, a local witch who took the form of a large hare and whenever the local hunt went by would lead them a merry chase, never getting caught. However, a man who had once been jilted by Moll and still bore her a grudge saw his chance to exact his revenge on her. He took advice on how to do this from a local Wise Man who told him the only thing that could kill a "Witch Hare" was a silver bullet. So he melted down his silver watch chain, made a bullet and tracked down the large hare to a field where he took aim and fired. However, the barrel split and the gun exploded tearing off the man's hand and yet again the hare escaped.
The people of Chagford now became so scared of Old Moll and her witchy powers that whenever some misfortune happened, she was always to be blamed. They eventually had the idea of approaching her rival, a witch from Widecombe, who told them that the only way they could ever catch her in her guise as a hare was to course her with a spayed bitch. Eventually a  spayed lurcher was found and sent off to chase the huge hare. Yet again the hare escaped but only after the dog had torn a large piece from it's leg. Not long after some of the menfolk from Chagford plucked up the courage to go and see Old Moll. On peering through the window of her cottage they saw her bandaging a deep wound in her leg in exactly the same spot that the dog had bitten the hare. The large hare was never seen again by the people of Chagford and peace returned to the town.