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Folklore Posts by jimit

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Kenward Stone (Carving)

Dr J.P. Williams Freeman was told by a "native" in 1915 that the carvings(?) represented a man's entrails and the holes were made so the stone could be moved with ropes "but the horses fell down dead".
During an excavation in 1924 by H. St. George Grey, a shepherd said that the stone was called the "Devil's Waistcoat"
In 1883 the Rev. Canon J.E. Jackson F.S.A said "It is traditionally called the stone of one Kinward, some ancient magnate who held his Hundred court here in the open air.....".

Information from the Wilts Arch Mag Vol 43 1925-27.
With thanks to Martyn Henderson of the Wilts and Swindon Record Office.

Oliver's Battery (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork)

The name comes from the belief that Cromwell sited his guns here during the Civil War to bombard Winchester Castle. In reality it's much too far away to have been used for this purpose as the Castle is about 2 miles distant.
The locals call the area "Ollie B"

Norsebury Ring (Hillfort)

Nothing to do with the "Norsemen" but called originally "Naesan Byrg" i.e. "Fort at the ness" later nose, later norse. Placed on the W. end of the ridge between the valleys of the Dever and the Cranbourne. (Coates 1989)

Deerleap Stones (Standing Stones)

Although the tunnel story is pretty fanciful, I discovered that there is an entrance to one of the numerous lead mines in this area in this field.

"This tale (Tunnels near Glastonbury) has quite a few local variants throughout Somerset. Most cogent here is the Mendip story told to Anthony Roberts by a fine old gentleman, the late James Barnard, who farmed between Wedmore and Wells and who traced his family back hundreds of years. This long distance tunnel myth is centered around two prehistoric standing stones that lie on the side of the Mendip Hills near Ebbor Gorge. The megaliths are called the Deerleap Stones and they mark at least one ley line running towards Warminster. Near these stones there is supposidly a tunnel entrance and a dog was said to have been thrust in, to reappear some days later from an exit at Glastonbury Tor. This is a distance of about eight miles as the crow flies."

http://www.isleofavalon.co.uk/history/h-tunnels
The pic should be interpreted correctly!!! It's a game played in our local to show how experienced cavers, myself included, can crawl through tight spaces. As the pub has a distinct lack of thick limestone in it, bar stools have to do. Honest.....
TMA re-kindled my interest in ancient history when I got my first PC and went on line early in 2002.
Other interests; architecture, natural history ( I'm a Landscape Gardener), parachuting (I used to be an instructor), and chatting in pubs.

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