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Hangman's Stone

Standing Stone / Menhir

Folklore

From White Horse Hill and Surrounding Country by L V Grinsell.

'There is another Hangmanstone, 4+1/2 feet high, south of the Lambourn Seven Barrows, and many others exist in southern England, some being connected with a legend of a man whoe stole sheep and rested at the stone with the sheep tied by a cord; but in its efforts to get away the sheep twisted the cord round the man's neck and strangled him. This legend has not, however, been recorded of the Berkshire stones, so far as I know.'

Compare with som text from; Memories of Old Berkshire, by Jane M Taylor O.B.E.

'By the side of a lonely road near where we lived is a very large, rather flat stone, known locally as 'Hangman Stone'. The story is that a man stole a sheep, tied it by the legs and hung it around his neck to carry it home. He grew tired, and sat down on the stone to rest. The sheep struggled and the cord hanged the man; and to this day that road is called Hangman Stone Lane, and it is still haunted by the ghost of the sheep stealer.'
wysefool Posted by wysefool
1st May 2007ce
Edited 1st May 2007ce

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