Slimmed down a little from:
Robert Hunt's "The Crowza Stones."
"Popular Romances of the West of England. Volume 2". 1903.
St Just, from his home in Penwith, being weary of having little to do, except offering prayers for the tinners and fishermen, went on a visit to the hospitable St Keverne, who had fixed his hermitage in a well-selected spot, not far from the Lizard headland.
St Just gloried in the goodly chalice from which he drank the richest of wines, and envied St Keverne the possession of a cup of such rare value. Again and again did he pledge St Keverne; their holy bond of brotherhood was to be for ever.
The time came when St Just felt he must return to his flock; he departed. St Keverne sending many a blessing after his good brother.
St Just had not long left before St Keverne missed his cup. Diligent search was made in every corner of his dwelling, but no cup could be found. At length St Keverne could not but feel that he had been robbed of his treasure by his friend.
His rage was excessive. St Keverne felt that his wisest course was to pursue the thief inflict summary punishment on him, and recover his cup. St Keverne started in pursuit of St Just. Passing over Crowza Down, some of the boulders of "Ironstone" which are scattered over the surface caught his eye, and presently he whipped a few of these stone pebbles into his pockets, and hastened onward.
Near Tre-men-keverne he spied St Just. St Keverne worked himself up into a boiling rage, and toiled with increased speed up the hill, hallooing to the saintly thief; who pursued his way for some time in the well-assumed quiet of conscious innocence.
Long and loud did St Keverne call on St Just to stop, but the latter was deaf to all calls of the kind and on he went, quickening a little.
At length St Keverne came within a stone's throw of the culprit, and calling him a thief and adding some of the most choice epithets from his holy vocabulary. Taking a stone from his pocket, he let it fly after St Just. The stone falling heavily by the side of St Just, convinced him making all the use he could of his legs. He quietly untied the chalice, which he had fastened to his girdle, and let it fall to the ground.
St Keverne came up to where his cup glistened in the sunshine. He had recovered his treasure. Therefore he took, one by one, the stones from his pockets--he hurled them, fairly aimed, after the retreating culprit, and cursed him as he went.
There the pebbles remained where they fell, the peculiarity of the stone being in all respects unlike anything around, but being clearly the Crowza stones, attesting the truth of the legend; and their weights, each one 'being several hundred pounds, proving the power of the giant saint.
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From Robert Hunt's "Popular Romances of the West of England. Volume 1" Published 1903.
"It is curious to find one tradition directly contradicting another. We are told, on the one hand, that The devil never came into Cornwall.
Because, when he crossed the Tamar, and made Torpoint for a brief space his resting-place, he could not but observe that everything, vegetable or animal, was put by the Cornish people into a pie.
He saw and heard of fishy pie, star-gazy pie, conger pie, and indeed pies of all the fishes in the sea. Of parsley pie, and herby pie, of lamy pie, and piggy pie, and pies without number. Therefore, fearing they might take a fancy to a "devily pie," he took himself back again into Devonshire".
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The monumental mass of granite on Dartmoor, known as Bowerman's Nose, may hand down to us the resting-place and name of a giant whose nose was the index of his vice; though Carrington, in his poem. of " Dartmoor," supposes these rocks to be
"A granite god,
To whom, in days long flown, the suppliant knee
In trembling homage bow'd."
Let those, however, who are curious in this problem visit the granite idol; when, as Carrington assures us, he will find that the inhabitants of
"The hamlets near
Have legends rude connected with the spot
(Wild swept by every wind), on which he stands,
The Giant of the Moor."
"Popular Romances of the West of England" Robert Hunt. 1903.
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"Tradition says the stones indicate the graves of nine sisters. Hals (?) appears to think some nuns were buried here".
Robert Hunt's "Popular Romances of the West of England. Vol 1". 1903.
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"I was in the neighbourhood of Zennor in 1859, and by accident came across the Zennor cromlech, and was struck with the mode of its construction (not having heard of its existence before), and thinking it bore some resemblance to the Druidical altars I had read of, I inquired of a group of persons who were gathered round the village smithery, whether any one could tell me anything respecting the heap of stones on the top of the hill. Several were in total ignorance of their existence.
One said, 'Tes caal'd the gient's kite; thas all I knaw.' At last, one more thoughtful, and one who, I found out, was considered the wiseacre and oracle of the village, looked up and gave me this important piece of information,
--'Them ere rocks were put there afore you nor me was boern or thoft ov; but who don it es a puzler to everybody in Sunnur (Zennor). I de bleve theze put up theer wen thes ere wurld was maade; but wether they was or no don't very much mattur by hal akounts. Thes I'd knaw, that nobody caant take car em awa; if anybody was too, they'd be brot there agin. Hees an ef they wus tuk'd awa wone nite, theys shur to be hal rite up top o' th hil fust thing in morenin. But I caant tel ee s' much as Passen can; ef you 'd zea he, he 'd tel he hal about et.'"
From Robert Hunt's "Popular Romances of the West of England. Volume 1". 1903.
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The barrow came by the name the Lord's Seat, as it was here that William Peveril, he of Peveril Castle fame, sat and watched the Peak Forest chase.
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Visible from the cup marked rock is Coombes Tor and legend has it it was here the tribes of the Peak fought the Romans. One of the Chieftans daughters was sacrificed in the hope it would bring them a victory......alas it didn't and the locals were wiped out.
The position of the 'Pricking Rods' is said to mark where the sacrifice took place. As to what the 'Rods' actually are is a bit of a mystery ...they look like they are possibly the remains of 2 wayside crosses stood on top of a large square boulder. Apparently 2 crosses together like this would make them a bit of a rarity......The other explanation for the use of the stones was to aid bending bows whilst being strung.
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In the book 'Place Names of the Peak District' the King Stone is referred to as being a flautist and not a fiddler, who was turned to stone for playing on the sabbath.
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Fin Cop is another one of those places, Barbrook II another, where it's reckoned that if you spend a night up there..........you'll go mad.
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The Deity stone opposite the entrance is supposed to smack anyone who swears near it. As usual not everyone believed it, and one man who went up there one night to "f and blind" at the stone was found dead the following morning.
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The Eagle Stone is similar in appearance to the Mother Cap Stone and lies at the edge of a cairnfield, on Baslow Edge.
On certain mornings of the year the stone is said to bounce around the moors. Eagle Stone is thought to be a corruption of Aigle's Stone a Celtic deity who threw large stones.
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A local violinist planned to visit the 9 Ladies one midsummmer's night with his family....his aim was to take part in a duet with the 'fiddler' stone ( king stone ).
But in true Derbyshire fashion he never made it....
Tripped over a tree root and broke his bow.
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In Burls 'Prehistoric Avebury' and various other books is the story which was told to journalist Paul Screeton.
About ' a very sincere man ' who fell asleep at Arbor Low and was visited in his dream by the ghosts of Atlanteans who instructed him in the henge's 'Purposes and dimensions'.
I've never come across the rest of the story, so can't really shed any light as to what those purposes were......
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In local folklore Robin Hood/Green Man was supposed to have stood astride the rocks and pissed onto the fields ' where seven maidens upon seeing it turned to stone '
David Clarkes- Ghosts and Legends of the Peak
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During Lethbridge's "soundings" (banging an iron bar on the ground) he found the outline of a chariot...
Legend has it a golden chariot is buried under the hill.
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Could be a bit of a dodgy posting this but here goes......
Castle Hill overlooks Castleton, with Peak Cavern (devils arse) below it.
The Normans built Peveril Castle on top of the hill, but local folklore reckons the druids used to worship there. Every Easter Sunday people from Castleton would climb the hill for sunrise, and then move on to drink from the Russet Well, down in the mouth of the cavern.
In one of the cottage gardens near the cavern a carving of a face was found on a stone and is thought to date back to the Iron Age.
Garland day usually May 29th( oak apple day ) is the surviving 'pagan' festival with a Green Man and loads of pissed up locals..
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When the Heathcotes were excavating here in 1939, 3 of the stones were mysteriously smashed overnight. No explanation was ever found.
They are now held together with concrete.
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In WP Witcutt's 1942 contribution to 'Folklore'; Fairies were said to dance and hold high revel on the barrow on Xmas Eve.
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These stones may be the stones the giant St Keverne threw at St Just for stealing from his drinking cup, there is debate as to whether these are the stones or the two stones on Crousa Common.
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There are several other stories to do with this circle other than maidens being turned to stone for dancing on the sabbath. One story says that the place was the scene of a large battle between the Saxon Athelstan and Cornish Howell in 936AD, the site of the pipers is where the two men stood and directed their men on the battlefield.
Flint arrowheads found at nearby Boleigh were believed to be from a battle King Arthur fought for the Cornish.
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Dolphin trainer for the MoD.
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