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Sperris Quoit

Burial Chamber

<b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheatImage © A. Brookes (18.6.05)
Nearest Town:St Ives (Cornwall) (5km ENE)
OS Ref (GB):   SW471383 / Sheet: 203
Latitude:50° 11' 23.91" N
Longitude:   5° 32' 36.77" W

Added by Holy McGrail


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<b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Moth <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Jane <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Jane <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Jane <b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

Fieldnotes

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Directions are pretty much as Mr Hamhead indicates - the easiest route is from the road to the north, taking the track that used to be the drive up to The Carne, which runs SW from the road. A smaller path forks off to the left (SE), which will take you to the ruins of an old cottage. From here the rocky Sperris outcrop is to your left, a narrow path runs up to it. From there it's just a short way down to the quoit itself. There are a couple of bushes either side which help with guidance. The large fallen stone is an upright, the captstone (long) gone. Amongst the vegetation there are traces of a low kerb, but on our most recent visit (26.6.09) it was a bit overgrown to see how far this extends. It is intervisible with Zennor Quoit.

Running SE from the quoit is an old stone hedge, which consists of an ancient looking row of low granite stones, with gaps between, poking up through the gorse and heather. It looks rather more like a boundary marker than anything of value as a means of controlling stock, etc.

Across the ridge to the SE you come to Sperris Croft, then further east are the two excellent barrows on Trendrine Hill.
thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
30th July 2009ce

Bit of a battle to find this, It may be easier from the road (B3306)? All the books say it gets very overgrown in summer and untill a fire in 1997 had been hidden for many years. Well I can report that it is stilll viewable and the chamber has yet to dissapear amongst the gorse again. The large upright is what you have to use to find it and I must say that without having my copy of Romance of the Stones with me I might have missed it.

Lying south of the main carn it is a scramble down over the boulders with no real path. The main stone is about 4ft high all the other stones are curb stones.

It is thought the capstone was used during the construction of the nearby mine building but if you look nearby you will notice a stone hedge running to the south east. I wonder if some of these stones were once the capstone.

This place is worth a visit, it is only a short walk from the much more visited Zennor Quoit but for some reason seems to get ignored.
Mr Hamhead Posted by Mr Hamhead
30th January 2004ce

Folklore

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Sperris is supposedly Cornish for sprite, ghost or goblin (Romance of the Stones). Perhaps that is why my camera didn't want to work at first and then when it did a rainbow appeared over the quoit? Mr Hamhead Posted by Mr Hamhead
30th January 2004ce

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Megalithics


Pics and a "Spherical VR Panorama" of this ruined Quoit.
Posted by phil
1st March 2002ce