Nice! Prehistoric stone re-used as rubbing post? Or later? Hmm.

Whereabouts is it Rhiannon? (Or is it secret?)

looks interesting, I presume the hole is definately manmade, is the stone a standing stone or part of something bigger?
Holed stones always make me think Intihuatana or "hitching post of the sun"

Thesweetcheat

Well this is it. It's not exactly in the midst of a wealth of standing stones round there. It's at about ST 814 655.

But I feel encouraged by your encouragement.

It's pretty doubtless limestone, Bath Stone, the area's been quarried for it, but not immediately nearby.
I haven't got another photo of the top, didn't think of that, I shall have to go back.

Would it only be a rubbing stone for small animals though? It's only smallish. If it was a sort of boundary marker, why only the one? Oooh if only it could talk, ETC.

Yes, that's a real one. It's the right kind of stone, the right kind of shape and, if I remember correctly, the right kind of lichen. Is it called Xanthoria - useful in producing orangey-brown tones in dyed wool - but that depends on which mordant is used (I think alum's best). Measure the size of the carved hole in units of 0.814" and I'll bet it's an even number. The hole won't be round and could have been used to tether an ancient pony and there's another stone beside it in the grass, it seems.

latest news, I have heard from the county archaeology people and they will apparently go and look at it some time. But she said, she didn't think it was prehistoric because there were no tool marks, it didn't look 'man made'. But surely that's not quite right? Not that I'm insisting it has to be Old or anything, but anyway.

(Also another suggestion was that it could have been moved to get out of the way of the plough.. but why would you then set it up like that?)