The Cove

Nearest town:
Keynsham (7km NE)
OS reference:
ST597631
OS sheets:
172, 182
Latitude:
51° 21' 53.95 N
Longitude:
2° 34' 44.16 W

Images

Image of The Cove (Standing Stones) by Snuzz

The stones of The Cove stand beautifully in the beer garden of the Druid Arms pub (which unfortunately was closed). It was difficult to submit a photograph that wasn't duplicating someone elses so I apologise for my presence in this shot. Saturday 16th September 2006

Image credit: Texlahoma
Snuzz
Snuzz Sep 22, 2006
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Image of The Cove (Standing Stones) by Jo-anne

One of the stones in The Cove.

Cubits to the stones.

The small and large stones all abide by a dimensional boxgrid.

Slightly exaggurated modification contours. Often shadows play a roll here.

The stones research is part of a BrigantesNation project.

Image credit: Joanne Duijns
J
Jo-anne Feb 26, 2006
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Image of The Cove (Standing Stones) by Kammer

Taken 21st June 2003: The Bride Stone, with the church making a nice backdrop (juxtaposition of ritual sites etc – all a bit obvious).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Jul 10, 2003
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Image of The Cove (Standing Stones) by Kammer

Taken 21st June 2003: Looking down the length of the Parson Stone, with the pub in the background. It was very early in the morning, so the pub garden was empty, except for the glasses, bottles, crisp packets and fag ends of the night before.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Jul 10, 2003
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Articles

The Cove

Finding stones near Bristol a place in history

moss
moss Feb 28, 2010
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The exciting new find by 'amateur' archaeologists of the long barrow under The Cove, at Stanton Drew.

Ask anyone in Bristol to name an ancient stone circle, and 90 per cent of people will probably say Stonehenge. A few of the wider-read sorts might mention Avebury. But remarkably, few will say the words Stanton Drew.

While Wiltshire's two landmark sites are known worldwide, Bristol's own major neolithic stone circle goes largely unnoticed.

But all that might be about to change, thanks to a team of enthusiastic amateur archaeologists who have discovered some intriguing new evidence that suggests the Stanton Drew site, near Chew Magna, may actually be 1,000 years older than historians had previously thought.

The discovery has been made by geophysics enthusiast John Oswin and amateur archaeologist John Richards, both from the Bath and Camerton archaeological society, who have been working with a team of volunteers under the guidance of Richard Sermon, Bath and North-East Somerset Archaeological Officer.

The two Johns have spent the last six months studying the results of their survey of the site in the summer, and they believe that long before the mystical stone circles were erected on the site around 2,500BC, there was an impressive "long barrow" burial chamber on the land.

I find a windswept John Oswin wandering thoughtfully around the area of the ancient monument known as The Cove. Separated from the main circles by the village church, this set of three ancient standing stones is nestled at the back of a pub car park.

"This is where we believe the long barrow would have been," says John, a former defence industry sonar expert at Filton who has taken a fancy for geophysical archaeology as a retirement hobby.

"I use a machine called a resistance meter," he explains. "It looks like a walking frame with a small computer attached. But actually, it is using scanning technology to create a picture of any archaeology that might be beneath the surface. Unlike traditional digging, this allows us to see what's below the surface in a non-invasive manner. Most people know about geophysics these days from watching Time Team on the television.

"Many neolithic stone circles are built on or near the site of an even more ancient long barrow – a large burial chamber. There is one, for example, at Stonehenge.

"But nobody had realised there was one here before because, although geophysicists had used this kind of equipment to scan the ground beneath the main stone circles, nobody had ever thought to come and scan this area known as The Cove.

"I first discovered there was a very large structure buried beneath the ground here back in the summer," John recalls. "I had been scanning all day, and then moved next door into the Druid's Arms to download my material on to a computer over a pint.

"When I saw the shape of a long barrow appearing on the screen my mouth just dropped open. It was one of those eyes-on-stalks moments, because I knew the civilisation that built stone circles came a thousand years after the civilisation that built long barrows.

"This would probably mean the stone circles had been specially built on a site that was already of sacred significance – a resting place of their distant ancestors.

"The neolithic – stone age – people who would have built the long barrow would have left the bodies of their dead to decay on the surface, before moving the bones down into the chamber – but only when they had been picked clean by birds or the flesh had rotted away.

"We believe they would then have brought the bones of their forefathers out for sacred rituals on special occasions. It's not that different to modern day Catholics parading the bodies of saints through towns for feast days.

"But by the time people came to build the stone circles here a thousand years later, this would all have been distant folklore – as distant to them as the Norman Conquest is to us."

To find out more about the significance of the find, I meet up with the project leader, John Richards, at his office at Bristol University – where he works as an IT manager.

"For me, archaeology is a hobby, but it's something I'm passionate about," he says, as he brings up the scan images on his computer screen.

"We were lucky to be given the chance to scan the ground at Stanton Drew, because access is often restricted by English Heritage, which maintains the monument.

"But we were approached as a society last year by Richard Sermon, the archaeological officer for the council. He wondered if we could give a demonstration of our geo-phys equipment to the public as part of a Festival of British Archaeology event.

"We said, yes we'd love to do it, but if we do, perhaps you could arrange something for us? Within a few weeks Richard had managed to get permission for us to survey the Stanton Drew site.

"It was exciting to get the chance to do the survey, so you can imagine how thrilled we were to find something as significant as a long barrow."

Since unveiling their find in archaeological publications recently, the two Johns have received congratulations from professional archaeologists all over the country, many of whom were keen to find out more about their data.

"We're hoping that this will be just the start of the story," John Richards says.

"We're hoping to get permission to go back on the site to do some more survey work this summer, and if we can get permission from the church and the pub landlord, we would like to scan the churchyard and the pub garden too, because we suspect the long barrow might extend on to their land – which would make this more than 20 metres in length.

"In other words, this would have been a very distinctive sacred landmark in the area 5,000 years ago."

thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Finding-stones-near-Bristol-place-history/article-1871522-detail/article.html

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The Cove

Stanton Drew 'older' than thought

moss
moss Jan 13, 2010
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The Cove that turned into a longbarrow.....

Archaeologists have discovered the collection of prehistoric standing stones at Stanton Drew is older than originally thought.

During geophysical surveys last summer, they found the outline of a burial mound dated from nearly 1000 years before the stone circles.

The surveys were carried out by Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society and the council's Archaeological Officer.

It is hoped the discovery will raise Stanton Drew's profile with scholars.

Their work has brought new light on the origins of the Cove – the three large stones in the beer garden of the Druid's Arms.

Stone circles such as those at Stanton Drew are known to date broadly to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, about 3000 to 2000 BC.

Given the new dating, by John Oswin, the upright stones of the Cove might be better explained as the portals or facade of a chambered tomb, similar to the Stoney Littleton long barrow near Wellow.

Bath and North East Somerset Council's Archaeological Officer, Richard Sermon, said: "Stanton Drew has been much neglected compared to Avebury and Stonehenge.

"This will raise its profile with the scholars and it [Stanton Drew] will be recognised as one of the major prehistoric sites in England."

Chance put up this news in December, but the full 50 page geophysical report seems to be online permanently and this rather extraordinary discovery in the news now!

news.bbc.co.uk/local/bristol/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8454000/8454448.stm

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The Cove

Stanton Drew Cove may be long barrow

Chance
Chance Dec 23, 2009
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The interim report on this summer's geophysics work at Stanton Drew by the Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society is now ready. Stanton Drew is the third and least known of the Wessex threesome of major stone circles.

The formal report will follow, but these were the highlights.

BACAS completed a resistance survey of the avenues, the north-east circle, and a complete ring of the main circle, looking for buried stones and empty stone sockets. One profile taken through a stone socket in the northeast avenue produced a spectacular picture. There were also interesting results at the SSW Circle which seem to show buried stone, and in Stone Close, where the potential of resistance profiles was demonstrated.

BACAS resistance work around the cove suggests it may well be the remnants of a long barrow on a north south alignment. Resistance profiling suggested that there were stone footings about half a metre below the surface heading from the cove northwards.

You can download a PDF copy (2MB) from

bris.ac.uk/fluff/u/isjer/KWKYi5F2ESA9C4zqoaxmdAER/

until the end of today

A higher resolution print copy will be available shortly and will probably appear on the BACAS website bacas.homecall.co.uk/ at some point.

BACAS surveyed part of the circle with a new Bartington magnetometer. Using very high data density BACAS could reproduce results at least as clear as English Heritage produced using a Caesium magnetometer.

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The Cove

postman
postman Aug 1, 2010
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Its about ten years since I first came to Stanton Drew , that first visit I didnt come here, cant quite remember why, perhaps the size and breadth of the stone circles shone too brightly, the second time I made sure of a visit but I was decidedly not alone, this third time proved the charm, untill a German couple came through the gate, I sat at a table and fiddled with my camera for a few minutes then they left.

So is this not a cove then? moss' longbarrow news makes a lot of sense, the only other coves that come to mind is at Arbor Low and Avebury and they are decidedly inside the circle, but here at Stanton drew theres a big enough gap between circle and cove they could fit a church in, also at Avebury there is a big long barrow nearby,so are they stones from the chamber and always have been or were they reused as a cove?

With late afternoon sunshine dappleing the stones through the leaves of the trees, and swallows pelting by every twenty eight point 3 seconds (approx) it was my best cove moment so far, just then I heard a shout from the carpark they had cleaned the dog sick out of the boot and were ready to go.

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The Cove

tjj
tjj Jul 6, 2010
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I spotted the Cove stones in the 'pub garden' as the bus had pulled into Stanton Drew and my first impression was that they were in the churchyard. We bought lunch and a drink at the Druid Arms just before it closed though the landlord said we were welcome to stay in the Cove Garden for as long as we wanted. Probably the best pub garden I have ever sat in; I found the relationship of the Cove Stones and the nearby church very interesting – the Cove Stones feel as though they belong to the same 'site' as the church as are really quite separate from the pub, there are steps leading up to them from the road. It felt once again like a church superimposed on an ancient site.

Note: the pub closed at 2.15pm though there is access to the garden at all times from the road.

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The Cove

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Nov 11, 2009
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After visiting the Circles and a brief stop at the (largely uninteresting) church, it's off to the Cove. Tucked away behind the (sadly closed, even though it was Monday lunchtime) Druid's Arms, the Cove consists of three enormous megaliths, one lying flat, the other two very much upright.

Despite the somewhat surreal beer garden setting, the Cove is magnificent. Sadly the intervening buildings and hedges make it difficult to fully appreciate as part of the wider landscape and associated sites, but even so it's a cracker. Be nice to know when the pub is open though!

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The Cove

Moth
Moth Oct 9, 2003
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Access Going south through the village, when the circle is signposted left keep going. (It might even be signposted too.) As you reach the far end of the village there is a bend left with the Druids Arms on the left. Immediately after the pub there is a small car park. Park here.

If you can resist going straight for a pint, there is a gate from the car park to about 5 fairly steep steps up to the beer garden. When the back door of the pub is unlocked you can also get through that way, but it still involves steps. The stones are set in well kept grass on a gentle-ish slope in the beer garden.

Tuesday 16 September 2003

Well, when we arrived the beer garden was deserted and the setting seemed fine. (Sorry Oci!) We had a look at these BIG old rocks and stood on walls at the top of the beer garden working out the relative position to the Great Circle etc and the SW Circle.

This was relatively easy. We orientated ourselves by the tops of the trees in the Great Circle's field, the Church – which lies between the Great Circle and The Cove (...hmmmm!), and, less pleasantly, a farmer's huge stockpile of old tyres that we'd noticed not far from the SW Circle!

This gave useful visual support to John Wood's observation a couple of centuries ago (related by Burl) that The Cove would align on a straight line through the centre of the NE and Great Circles. (He also says that Hautville's Quoit aligns on a line through the centres of the SE and Great Circles.)

Curiously none of this is mentioned in English Heritage's little info sheet, though it does give loads of interesting info about a geophys survey of the main site. (Once you've waded through the usual woolly 'what stone circles were for' and 'folklore'.)

Anyway, nice Cove! Inevitably a little reminiscent of, but very small in relation to, the Avebury one(s) – but still big stones in comparison to an awful lot of megaliths! Wonder what coves were? (I've read a few theories of course.) Pre-dates the circles according to Burl.

Have to say being sited in a beer garden quite appealed to us. (Ahem, what a surprise!) So, better to enjoy the ambience, we grabbed a pint of Wadswoth 6X each and drank to the glorious Mr Stanton Drew....

Also see The Great Circle, North East Circle & Avenues , South West Circle and Hautville's Quoit.

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The Cove

Kammer
Kammer Jul 10, 2003
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Visited 21st June 2003: As our Solstice morning progressed I dragged everyone up to see the Cove, promising William that we'd have breakfast afterwards (I neglected to mention Hautevilles Quoit at this stage).

I've got to disagree with Ocifant's impression of the Cove. I think there is something special about these stones, and it's made all the more remarkable by the fact they're in a pub garden. Obviously the garden was deserted when we visited, so it was relatively quiet, but I've been there before when it was crowded and there was still a zing to the place then. On this occasion our visit was brief because we were all hungry and tired, but we'll be back as soon as possible (during opening hours).

These megaliths must have contributed to the building of the church on it's current site, between them and the South West Circle. Their part in the wedding legend also suggests that they have been considered as important elements in Stanton Drew group for a considerable time. The fact that's they've ended up in the garden of a pub is perhaps not wholly inappropriate, because in this way they remain part of the day to day life of the village in a way that the other megaliths don't.

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Folklore

The Cove
Standing Stones
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Jun 23, 2005
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Stukeley wrote in 1743: "In an orchard near the church is a cove consisting of three stones.. this they call the parson, the bride and bridegroom."

Aubrey, who visited in 1664 knew the stones as the Bride, the Parson's Stone and the Cooke's Stone. (Presumably the groom had sneaked off into the pub?)

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Topics

Maybe a longbarrow 5
moss
moss
Jan 2010

Sites within 20km of The Cove

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