Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

Also known as:
Willie Hall Wood
Nearest town:
Ilkley (2km NW)
OS reference:
SE116466
OS sheet:
104
Latitude:
53° 54' 54.43 N
Longitude:
1° 49' 24.16 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by David Raven

The carved stone two-and-a-half years since it was vandalised. Thankfully, the red paint appears to be weathering off. The word ‘RED’ looked like a fairly recent addition, scratched onto the surface.

Image credit: David Raven
David Raven
David Raven May 20, 2006
Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by rockartwolf

15/10/05

Red paint....such a bloody shame...

anyone who chalks or paints in carvings needs there head examined.

Image credit: Brian Kerr
rockartwolf
rockartwolf Oct 18, 2005
Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by Kozmik_Ken

To illustrate the appauling damage that has been done to this great stone.

Image credit: Andy H
Kozmik_Ken
Kozmik_Ken Apr 23, 2004
Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by Kozmik_Ken

A cluster of rocks just north of the main stone bear cup marks.

Image credit: Andy H
Kozmik_Ken
Kozmik_Ken Apr 23, 2004
Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by Kozmik_Ken

‘Entrance’ stone to Willy Hall’s Wood, with what are probably natural cups. None the less, I feel strongly that this stone had a significance in its position.

Image credit: Andy H
Kozmik_Ken
Kozmik_Ken Apr 23, 2004
Image of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone (Cup and Ring Marks / Rock Art) by Kozmik_Ken

Willy Halls Wood from the bottom of White Wells. Streams flow around both sides of the mound which is topped by the Willy Halls Wood Stone. Both join to merge at Willy Halls Spout at the bottom of the mound, then flow on down to the river Wharfe. A very powerful spot indeed.

Image credit: Andy H
Kozmik_Ken
Kozmik_Ken Nov 10, 2003

Articles

Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

Kozmik_Ken
Kozmik_Ken Apr 23, 2004

An easy route is to approach from the east over Ilkley Crags and past the Pepperpot Rock, this brings you to the back of Willy Hall’s Wood.

This is one of my favourite spots to while away time on these moors. The atmosphere is buzzing and it’s not hard to see why this would have been a sacred spot in prehistoric times... in fact, it still is now. Willy Hall’s Wood is a mound surrounded by two streams which drain off of Green Gates and join again at the bottom of the mound at Willy Hall’s Spout. The stream then flows down into Ilkley under Brooke Street and joins the Wharfe at the bridge near the Roman Fort of Olicana.

Near the crossing of the eastern stream is an upright boulder with a number of large bowls or cups on it’s eastern face. I’m uncertain whether they were fashioned or are natural (I have seen many similar features on a number of rocks around Ilkley Moor), but I am certain that it’s not there by accident and feels very much like an ‘entrance’ to the site. A few yards north of the main rock is a cluster of small boulders, one of which has a small cup on it’s top.

Unfortunately, Willy Hall’s Wood Stone still bears the marks of someone’s utter stupidity. As previously shown here, someone has followed the design in red paint and added runic nonsense to the north facing side of the stone. The paint seems to be an acrylic and has dried to a rock hard, matt finish which will take decades to weather away naturally. A curse on the backward thinking motherf*cker.

Still, even this vandalism can’t detract from the beauty and sacred intent of this spot.

Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

greywether
greywether Apr 20, 2004

13 April 2004 and the paint is still there. No sign of it naturally weathering off. It will require a professional job to remove it.

Pity because today was a beautiful day with the shadows of the trees playing on the rock. An atmosphere spoilt by this act of vandalism.

Photos converted to B/W take away some of the horror, but not much.

258 in “Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding”

SE 11587 46582

Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

IronMan
IronMan Feb 8, 2004

Just got back from my first trip to Ilkley in a few months and what can I say that Stubob hasn’t already, what an absolute disgrace. This is one of the most perfectly situated, unpublicised sites on the moor and it’s now been damaged, quite possibly forever, by a mindless, selfish idiot. Shame on you whoever did this.

Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

Chris Collyer
Chris Collyer Mar 22, 2003

This site is fairly straightforward to get to, although not necessarily easy. There is plenty of parking space at White Wells carpark – walk to the old pump house and then head due south uphill keeping the white building of the old bathhouse to your left and head towards the waterfall. Once you get there is a very steep climb up beside the small falls (there may well be easier routes round the side) that leads to the outcrop of land the forms the north end of Willy Hall’s Wood. This is the place that Gyrus mentions on the main Rombald’s Moor page – it is indeed a wonderful place and has an air of ‘sacred grove’ about it. Continue south through the trees and just before they end you will find the large tilted stone with carvings across its southern face, these consist of about 17 cups, some of which have rings and some with interconnecting grooves. Just beyond the carved rock is another boulder that has three large saucer shaped indentations – I thought they may have been man-made but found out later from a knowledgeable local that he believed they were natural.
When I looked at my photo’s, the sunlight had caused the carvings to be almost invisible, but I noticed that the trees, stone and landscape seemed to be at chaotic angles – it wasn’t just my poor photography, this place is really like that.

Topics

Calling Stubob / Unbelievable 10
IronMan
IronMan
Feb 2004

Sites within 20km of Willy Hall’s Wood Stone

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