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England
Penshaw HillHillfort
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Fieldnotes |
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Penshaw Hill seems to be one of those fantastic hill forts completely missed by historians because of a later addition - A mock greek temple. Penshaw appears to be one of the few classic triple rampart Iron Age hill forts known to exist in the north. In terms of magic, it has a similar feel to Almondbury, with dates from the Bronze Age to the mid Iron Age. To add to its mystique, an apparent saucer barrow sits unnoticed at the foot of the hill, within the outer enclosure. In 1844, before most antiquaries were interested in local pre-history worm hill, the regions greatest hill fort was 'converted' into a folly in the form of a Greek temple, to John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham (1792 - 1840). Governor - General of Canada, Grand Master of the Order of Freemasons, Member of Parliament, one time Lord Privy Seal, landowner and coal owner. Erected in 1844 by private subscription, its design by the Greens of Newcastle was executed by Thomas Pratt of Sunderland. The monument comprises Greek Doric columns (4 by 7) with entabulatures and end pediments but no roof. The columns stand upon a solid stone platform. As a consequence, all the earthworks associated with the hill were assumed to be related to the monument and little attention was paid to the significance of this ancient site. Even the OS map of 1864, published twenty years after the erection of the monument, notes the earthworks simply as 'old quaries' The area marked as Painshaw Hill Quarry has indeed been fully quarried out, however a crop mark to the West may still elude to the orginal outer bank of this enormous hill fort - one of the largest hill fort in the north yet totally unrecorded. The photo's show the earthworks and an additional feature - a possible Barrow. For full details visit my website |
Posted by BrigantesNation 12th June 2002ce Edited 2nd February 2004ce |
Folklore |
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People have said that they have heard the fairies patting butter on the hill as they passed at night. Once a man heard them say "mend that peel!" (a peel was a long-handled shovel used to remove bread from the oven.) Passing by the next day, he found the broken shovel and took it home to be mended. The following day a piece of bread and butter was lying on a stone where he had found the peel. The man was afraid to eat the bread or give it to his horses, fearing the consequences. Unfortunately, unaware that he had offended the fairies, his horses dropped dead before they reached the top of the hill. Myth and Magic of Northumbria Coquet Editions 1992 |
Posted by fitzcoraldo3rd April 2003ce |
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Associated with the Penshaw Monument is the tale of the Lampton Worm, which is apparently how the hill got its rings, indeed this type of hill fort would be highly unusual, even in the period in which it was built few such ornate hill forts existed for hundred's of miles. See the website for the full text. |
Posted by BrigantesNation 12th June 2002ce |
Miscellaneous |
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| The North East England History Pages Website states that Penshaw Hill can be "seen clearly from parts of west Durham, North Tyneside and as far south as the Stang Forest in Teesdale". |
Posted by TomBo23rd April 2004ce |
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Penshaw Monument Virtual TourA nifty virtual tour of the monument gives an indication of the impressive outlook from the top. |
Posted by hrothgar29th June 2004ce Edited 5th July 2004ce |
The Internet Sacred Text ArchiveThis version of the tale of the Lambton Worm, from Edwin Sidney Hartland's 1890 English Fairy and Other Folk Tales also makes no mention of Penshaw Hill. It is notable for the poem it contains, in which the worm's death is described: I have never encountered this particular version anywhere else. |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce |
Jake's RidesA view from the top of Penshaw. |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce Edited 23rd April 2004ce |
Northumberland Grid For LearningYou've not heard the tale of the Lambton Worm until you've heard it. Every child in the north-east knows it because of the famous song, written by C.M. Leumane in 1867 for a pantomime that was performed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, at the Tyne Theatre. This website features a recording of the song, as sung by the children of Stobhillgate First School, in Morpeth, Northumberland. Spoken versions of the song's lyrics are also available, in both the Northumbrian and the Geordie accent, as well as standard English. These files are fairly large, and take some time to download, so you'll need to be patient. I should point out that the storytellers in the spoken versions have drastically slowed down the fast pace of their natural speech in order to make it easier for non-natives to understand. Also bear in mind that the website is an educational resource for schools, and so is aimed at children. This means that the tale is illustrated with cartoon-style animations, and also that the song can only be heard a verse at a time. Although this can be slightly annoying, the site is still well worth investigating, if you've never heard the tale of the Lambton Worm (or the true pronunciation of the name Penshah!). |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce Edited 23rd April 2004ce |
Mysterious BritainA prose version of the tale of the Lambton Worm. This is particularly interesting as it makes no mention at all of Penshaw Hill, associating the Worm, rather, with Worm's Hill, Worm Rock and Worm's Well. |
Posted by TomBo 18th August 2003ce Edited 23rd April 2004ce |
Brigantes NationFull details of the Iron Age hill fort, the 'barrow' and a bit on the monument. |
Posted by BrigantesNation 12th June 2002ce |
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