Showing 1-20 of 170 miscellaneous posts. Most recent first | Next 20 
"And back on the unchanging Flat of Stoke
Stand rugged stones in circle, whence the sun
The whole of day was seen, and where the stroke
Of sacrifice was at his rising done.
And out on Ramsley's brackened floor,
And high on Eyam's black barren moor,
And far o'er Offerton and all around
These olden temples stud the higher ground."
A verse from The Pride of the Peak by Ethel Bassett Gallimore (1926)
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"In our walk to Matlock, we passed along the side of the hill to Riber Top, where a singular assemblage of stones, supposed to have been originally a druidical altar; some antiquaries say, a cromlech, which appears more probable: they are called Hirst Stones, and are not unworthy of a visit; since those who feel no interest in these ancient relics will be amply repaid for the toil and trouble of ascending this eminence by the prospect it commands"
From 'Peak Scenery or The Derbyshire Tourist' 1824 by Ebenezer Rhodes.
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"....as we cruise again down the valley to Grindleford Bridge; first making a detour to visit the grand rocky platform of Hu-Gaer, ("The city of God"), and the old British fort of Caelswork ("which means, the fort or building of the Churl - Anglo-Saxon 'Carl'" - and not "the work of the Gaels," as a repitition of writers have it;) and to bask on Millstone Edge......"
Edward Bradbury 'All About Derbyshire' 1884
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The first verse of many by William Bennet 1867.
THE DRIVING OF THE DEER.
Lord Peverel stood on the Lord's Seat,
And an angry man was he;
For he heard the sound of a hunter's horn
Slow winding up the lea.
He look'd to north, he look'd to south,
And east and west look'd he:
And " Holy cross! "the fierce Norman cried,"
Who hunts in my country?
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Easily seen in the field between the road and the farm. Ploughing has damaged the barrow which was excavated in 1877 by Jewitt and Greenwell when a
disturbed limestone cist was discovered together with the remains of two cremations.
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HER No.: 9871
A standing stone was identified in woodland on Farley Moor, at c. SK 29966302. It was reported as standing over 6ft tall. The stump of another was said to be a little distance away; no grid reference was provided for this second stone.
The 1st edition 25" Ordnance Survey map of c. 1880 marks 'Stone' at this site, which at that time was open moorland. Nothing is shown on the 2nd edition.
(Heritage Gateway)
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The views from the Rocks are about to change....a windfarm is being built on the nearby Carsington Pastures. Groundwork's already started.
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Along with the Peak Park Board I also contacted the Forestry Commission, who are the landowners, about the stone, to see if they had any thoughts or info on the stone.
In the end I ended up telling them what I had found out. But they did tell me that there are plans to carry on clearing the area around the stone of trees.
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In 1691 the 'remarkable Ashover personality of later Stuart times', Leonard Wheatcroft, wrote in his autobiography "And in that yeare I bu(i)lde(d) the fabrick upon the top of Ashover Hill, upon which I made a song which you may find in my booke of poetry'. This records how on April 11 1689 Wheatcroft had lit a bonfire on the hilltop to celebrate the coronation of King William of Orange and Queen Mary Stuart and that he had decided to "bu(i)ld me up a fabrick, to behould each pleasant day". It was obviously intended as a kind of rustic folly or summer house where he and his friends could celebrate the Protestant Succession. We have some knowledge of the appearance of his 'Fabrick' as it was recorded on a plan and elevation by Hayman Rooke in 1784. This shows that the natural rock outcrop sloping from north-east to south-west had been built up with squared stone to create an oval tower-like structure measuring 9 ft by 6 ft. The top of the wall has the effect of being battlemented, but this may simply be the result of years of decay. An entrance was left at the south-east side and around the inside of the horseshoe-shaped wall was a continuous stone seat. The top of the rock seems to have been made up with earth or stones to form a flat but sloping floor, in the middle of which stood an oval stone 'table'. The sketch agrees with Wheatcroft's own description of the structure. "This fabrickes bu(i)lded like an ovall, 'tis neaither square nore loung nor round". He also mentioned that "in it there is but one doore". Whether it ever had a roof or any type of wooden superstructure is not clear but no trace of this artificial building now remains.
From the Derbyshire HER
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It is thought the barrow is one excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1851. He found it to contain a central limestone cist containing a pottery urn
inverted over the remains of a cremation and a burnt bone pin.
He discovered a second cist containing the crouched skeletons of two adults and two children accompanied by a food vessel and a number of flint implements.
An adult crouched burial was found close to this second cist and a further two burials of children by the central cist
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Thomas Bateman excavated here in the late 1840's, discovering three crouched burials in a rock cut grave with flints and a jet necklace accompanying them. The burials in turn were coverd by stones, on the top of these stones were a cremation and animal bones.
A later Anglian burial was also discovered.
Info: Barnatt, Marsden and NMR.
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Thomas Bateman excavated the barrow in the late 1840's, discovering a rock cut grave. In it were the bones of a teenage girl and younger infant accompanied by a beaker.
There was a stone cist nearby containing 6 burials and flint implements.
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The hut circle is Romano-British and is the survivor of what once were three, the other two were damaged when found and have since been lost to the plantation.
Although outside of the websites remit, it is quite possibly handy to keep the entries as the hut circles are more than likely the stone circles described by Hayman Rooke in the 18th Century.
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From the DAJ:
"Across Robin Hood's Stride are at least seven groups of probable cup marks; six on the outcrop proper and one on a largeboulder to the SE."
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Further to the rock art that is shown in the photographs the DAJ note 3 more examples
i) Two parrallel lines of cups flanked by two pairs of cups with a long groove above them
ii) A large cup surrounded by a ring of seven cups with a further five cups nearby.
iii) Similar to ii) a central cup and five outer cups.
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The passage of the chamber is unmistakenly aligned to Harboro' Rocks a short distance away....I have a hair brained theory that the builders of the mound were acknowledging a local historically important place....the Rocks are the site of another Neolithic chambered burial but the finds made around them, like the Hopton handaxe, takes Harboro' back in human history to the Paleolithic.
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I haven't had chance to read them yet but Elton Common has been mentioned twice in the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal.....
1968: A Late Neolithic Site at Elton
&
1982: Field Walking at Elton Common.
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25 x 16m barrow opened by bateman in 1851 and described in his 'Ten Years Digging.....' volume. He recovered a burial of human and animal bone within the mound and on the old ground surface, beneath the mound, he found 4 disturbed inhumations accompanied by a beaker and a bone artefact. Around this central burial were 5 concentric arcs of stone.
Info: J. Barnatt & J. Collis.
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Excavated by Bateman in 1845 and recorded in his 'Vestiges of .....' book a few years later. He found a central burial on a limestone pavement beneath the mound, and a cremation in a pit.
Info: J.Barnatt & J. Collis
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Plough damaged barrow measuring 16x14m. Excavated by Lucas and Carrington in the 1860's, the results were badly recorded so all that is known is they found bone, pottery and flint of unspecified types.
Info J.Barnatt & J.Collis
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Showing 1-20 of 170 miscellaneous posts. Most recent first | Next 20 |
Dolphin trainer for the MoD.
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