Re: Possible misidentification?? | Forum

Menear Longstone 1

Image by bigfoot_66

Possible misidentification??

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ocifant Sep 2, 2007 17:56:45

Replying to bigfoot_66

OK, I'm slightly confused now.

Looking further in Romance of the Stones (RotS), Gwallon Menhir is shown at SX 0295 5212 (which is the one on the OS map).

Menear Longstone is shown as at SX 0345 5212, which is a short distance immediately east of the Gwallon Menhir. It is described as being "on high ground, overlooking St Austell Bay", although it also mentions it as being on the farm and near the road with the same name. Looking on the OS map, Menear Farm is at SX 0353 5440. There is an obvious disparity here with the location and grid ref.

Is 'your' Menear on the farm to the north of the main town, south of Trethurgy? Can the bay be seen from the stone? If (as I suspect) the answer to both is yes, then the grid ref in RotS (and shown here on TMA) is incorrect. The Lat/Lon figures you give seem to place it somewhere slightly east of the Isle of Man on my map :-) You couldn't revisit with a GPS by any chance?

We need to sort this out! :-)

ocifant Sep 2, 2007 18:15:06

Replying to ocifant

Is this it?

http://tinyurl.com/2wpxul (links to Google maps satellite view - I google earth'd from your instructions, and it looks like there's a stone in that field)

If so, the the ref is approx SX 034 545 - EDs will be able to change it.

Oh, and RotS says this stone was referenced as early as 1525, so if it's a rubbing stone, it's been there a while!

bigfoot_66 Sep 2, 2007 20:18:40

Replying to ocifant

ocifant wrote:

We need to sort this out! :-)

Right...sorry to be a while...

Yes, you've got the right spot... south of Trethurgy. Apologies if my grid ref's out. Google Earth (free version) shows a long shadow in that field, the telegraph pole in my photos, with grey blob alongside, but there's not enough definition for me to make the Menear out distinctly. This makes it at grid ref': 50 21' 26.7" N, 04 45' 51.22"W

You're definitely correct about erroneous grid ref's in 'RoTs'...I've come across a number of similar errors in said volume, finding one of the axis usually correct and the other from another site somewhere in the same couple of pages. Has made it more interesting & rewarding finding certain places. Only twigged to this stone, which is very local to me, by having a scan thru' RoTs again, researching another project. Passing the farm in the past I'd speculated around the name, never found anything on the maps and so not ground to scouting it out properly. Duh!

And the view as you look across the valley has St Austell Bay to your right looking over towards Penpillick, with the Eden site at Bodelva below you .

Sorry to set the feline in the aviary!! :) Will try for better images when dry next week .