EmaTille wrote:
I notice on one site that Winter Hill is also named the Giants Stone.? After reading and walking the moors for years and not finding the right stone I found a document in Bolton Library that might shed some light on the location.According to the document a giant threw the stone from the top of Winter Hill and it landed on Longworth Moor.It says the stone was 14 feet in length,depth 5 feet and breadth 9 feet.A local vicar had a crude crucifix carved into it when locals began to worship next to it.A collection of stones near by, I was told by a local, is aptly named the Devils Chair. After a full day of searching I finally found the stone not too far away on Longworth Moor just before the Hanging Stones.The area is treacherous to walk on but well worth the struggle to get there.Has anyone else seen or found the stone ?
It has taken 3 years for someone to reply to you! (terrible!).
I have found the Hanging Stone / Giant's Stone on Longworth Moor. In Thomas Hampson's book, Horwich: It's History, Legends, and Church (1883) he writes:
"the stone lies upon... a hill in the township of Turton. The tradition is that it was thrown by a giant... from Winter Hill... they fancy that certain little hollows in the stone are the impressions made by the giant's hands... a rude mark of a cross, that about 7 inches by 6 inches, appears at a very distant time to have been cut upon it... A thorough going antiquary would call this a druidicial remain."
You mention that "A local vicar had a crude crucifix carved into it when locals began to worship next to it" - where did you get this reference from? I am of the opinion that the "rude mark of a cross" was likely to have been carved upon the stone during the early Christianisation of the area (perhaps around the mid 7th century AD, when there is evidence that Northumbria was Christianised) - early Christian missionaries did this as way to sanctify existing pagan sacred sites, in order to bring them under the Christian fold.
Now then, here is what I find very interesting about this stone - I have found almost exactly the same crude mark of a cross" carved upon a similar stone on Rivington Moor (grid Ref SD648136) - the alignment of the cross on both stones is the same, it isn't aligned magnetically North, it is more North-Easterly.
This "other Giant's stone" that I found lies upon a line between the Two Lads and the Pike (evidence, I believe, that Ley lines exist on Winter Hill) - check out my blog (http://winterhilllancashire.blogspot.com/).
I will try to put up some pictures, if I can figure out how to do it!
The other interesting point here is the similarity to other stories concerning giant's throwing stones and leaving indents - the "Great Stone" lies at the entrance to Trafford Park estate on Chester Road in Stretford, Manchester - there are two deep holes cut into the top of this stone - according to an Arthurian legend, this stone was thrown by a giant called Tarquin (who lived in Castlefield, in the ruins of the Roman Castle). Tarquin threw it at a rival (possibly Sir Lancelot), missing him - the two depressions are the supposed marks of the giants thumb and forefinger...
