It’s taken 12years for the heather to claim back the Triple Cairn. But it’s just about completed the job.
The kerbstones, the most impressive thing, to me, surrounding the cairns are completely covered and the only visible part is a small stoney area on its highest part, and this is only visible when you’re right on top of the cairn.
Shame really, but the moor hasn’t been managed after the Right To Roam came in, and the grouse shooting stopped at roughly the same time.
Top of Ecton Hill on a clear day in the Peak, for views, takes some beating. Swallow Moss, Axe Edge, the Hills of Parkhouse and Chrome, High Wheeldon fill the northern horizon. While the Wolfscote, Glutton, Narrowdale and Wetton hills dominate toward the southern one.
There Five barrows on Ecton Hill; this one, of three, on Hanging Bank being the pick of them. Excavations have left their mark but it survives as a pretty decent barrow in a Peak sorta way.
This Early Bronze Age settlement lays a couple of hundred metres south of the Nine Stone Close. There’s no upstanding remains between the two low rock outcrops that occupy the site apart from a small circular mound of stones. These may be stones of field clearance although the circular nature of it looks a bit weird if that’s the case.
We found a few flint flakes in the mole hills in the area.
G. A Makepeace described and excavated here in the 1960’s, whether this was published I don’t know but getting hold of the report may help in understanding the site.
Parking at Robin Hood it’s a walk of about a mile up and along Under Pasture Edge to Dobb Edge; a sometimes hairy walk along the edge in places.
The stone’s position is excellent with fine reaching views for the most part. To the north the horizon is filled with Birchen Edge, and moving westward, Gardom’s Edge, Big Moor, Eaglestone Flats (although the Eagle Stone isn’t visible on the horizon), Sir William Hill on Eyam Moor and Bretton Moor. To the west is Longstone Edge and Moor with Fin Cop prominent. The east rises up to Gibbet Moor via Peak o’ Bill’s Rocks and the White Peak occupies the southern horizon.
There’s rocks galore in the area surely there’s more rock art waiting to be uncovered/discovered here.
It’s hard to think of the moors above Matlock as being part of the Eastern Moors. As today much of it has been improved, enclosed and afforested. Perhaps the only reminder is a part of Matlock Moor proper.
Tower, Blackbrook, Farley, Upper, Middle and Bottom Moors have all been interfered with to varying degrees.
As with the Eastern Moors to the north these southerly reaches too had Bronze Age monuments and settlement. Enclosure and the coming of the forest however consigned the monuments here to the history books; the Seven Brideron/Bretheren stone circle and the stone/cairn circle near Woodbrook Quarry both destroyed.
A couple of years ago I noticed that a stone was marked as having stood on Farley Moor on the first edition of the 1:2500 O.S map. As with other stones marked on old maps the stone could be anything of any age; marker stone, guide stone, boundary stone or even standing stone.
Working the position out on a modern map put the stones’ location in the middle of forestry. Thinking of the two destroyed circles I assumed the stone, whatever it was, to have long disappeared. How wrong I was.
Luckily, going by Google Earth a fair bit of the plantation had been cleared and the stone should stand just off the clearing in the trees.
And there it was around 6feet tall slender with a tapering top and well weathered. A post medieval marker stone didn’t seem to ring right; it seemed older for what that’s worth.
After researching the stone and area I could find nothing so in the end contacted the Peak Park Board.
In 2003 John Barnatt and Frank Robinson had visited the stone, very impressed, they surmised that with the stones position and weathering that it is quite possibly prehistoric; although excavation would only be able to say for definite.
If it is prehistoric the stone is the third largest standing stone on the Eastern Moors after the felled Old Woman’s Stone on Bamford Moor and the one on Gardom’s Edge.
These pair of stones are returning to nature. The little fenced rock garden, that houses the stones, is now overgrown in June and the designs are becoming moss covered. The stone with the lightly pecked motif is now completely lost to the moss; and many of the cup marks in the design of the neighbouring slab are also moss filled.
It may be the intention to let the stones get a more natural feel to them. Although I much preferred them when they were free of moss and the like and more of a feature in the garden. Each to their own.
I wasn’t aware of the wishing side of things to this outcrop.....
I remember it from raves in the Butts Quarry in the early 90’s when we would set off across Ashover and up the hill to watch sunrise from here.....and maybe try to break into the cold war listening station that’s buried 30ft away.
On the rocks that surround the Fabrick are also nicely carved animals such as ducks, dogs and a donkey.
Parking spots at the T-Junction at the top of the hill and the rock is a pleasant flat walk of a quarter of a mile.
Nice one Rhiannon for adding it.
On the South Western doorstep of Minninglow the Roystone Rocks and the valley are a great place to explore.
There is so much interest here; in regards to TMA the barrows along the eastern edge of the valley are worth finding not for their remains
but their position and views over the Roystone Valley.
Much of what lies in the valley bottom dates to the Romano period, wall foundations, enclosures,house terraces right through to the foundations of a 13th Century grange and
excellent 13th Century stone walling.Along with todays working farm.
It’s Roystone Rocks where the real interest lies. A small hiltop topped with a shattered limstone pavement with rocks that pertrude from the ground like rotten molars.
The rocks have been part excavated and part test pitted. Both Methods recovered a large amount of chert and flint tools and flakes dated to the Mesolithic. A hunting platform
has been identified on the rocks overlooking the western side, although I couldn’t say where...on the western slopes are said to be Neolithic field plots, but once I again I couldn’t tell from the natural.
All within Minninglow’s shadow.
For a good read on the areas history try Richard Hodge’s “Roystone Grange 6000years of a
Peakland Landscape”
Although this barrow survives only as a low tree surrounded mound. It is relatively easy to spot as it is sited by the roadside at the highest point of the estate road as it crosses Chatsworth Park.
The estates deer population often shelter amongst the trees.
To say how much landscaping has gone on in Chatsworth Parkthis barrow, although slightly disturbed at its centre, has survived quite well. Around 13m in diameter and about 1m in height.
Nearby, tree covered, Lindup Low is quite visible over the Park road.
Parking in Paxton’s model village of Edensor in front of the church. The barrow is a five minute walk across the parkland.
Grind Low is about 400m south of the Burton Moor barrow. Larger, at getting on for 30m diameter, ploughing and stone robbing have also taken their toll and the barrow is around 1m high.
Nothing extraordinary....typical Peak barrow.
There’s a fair bit of gate climbing involved to get to this barrow from the path that crosses the now improved Burton Moor.
Crossed by a stone wall the barrow is around 13m diameter and a little over 1m high. It looks to have been disturbed more than likely from being robbed of its stone for the walls around here.
Little to get enthused about; however if you find yourself in the area here and the nearby Grind Low are worth checking out.
Nearest neighbour to Cop Low this barrow is completely ploughed out today.
A farmer dug the barrow in 1932 discovering 2 cists, their contents are unknown.
I must admit I didn’t get this Neolithic oval barrow at all; couldn’t distinguish what was natural and what was supposedly barrow.
Measures some 20m in length and below 0.5m in height....or does it? Confused me.
Not marked on the O.S map, I came across this barrow in John Barnatt’s Barrow Corpus. The name of the barrow got me interested as I have a few friends who consider themselves Derbyshire Tups.
Situated WNW from the village of Foolow, Tup Low is an impressive barrow of around 20m diameter and between 2-3m in height. The Corpus says that it is unexcavated and it pretty much looks undisturbed.
Two fields away to the west from the Foolow to Grindlow path.
The walled plantation that Blake Low is situated in probably hasn’t done this barrow many favours. Trees, undergrowth and the likelihood of being robbed for its stone means the only real giveaway to its position is the telegraph pole that stands on the barrows top.
It also has quarries and the ugly Deep Rake fluorspar workings as close neighbours.
Two other barrows were recorded in the area. One to the south which has now completely vanished. The one still visible to the SE at Beacon Rod, and marked on the 1:25000 O.S map, has been described by John Barnatt, in his Barrow Corpus, as being a natural knoll.
This prominent, distinctively shaped hill is to the west of Longstone Edge/Moor and directly above Cressbrook Dale. Although part of the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve the hill is open access. Without trepassing the only way to get onto the hill is from Wardlow Mires, making your way up the Cressbrook Dale’s eastern side above the outcrop of Peter’s Stone and using the access land.
The barrow is sited right on top of Hay Cop and topped by a trig point. It survives to a decent height but the small summit of the hill adds to the height of the barrow depending on which side you view it. Disturbed slightly on one side it has however never been excavated, the steep sides of the hill possibly giving antiquarians second thoughts on ascending the hill.
An impressive barrow on the whole and I’ll be back for another visit to take in the views. This time with a camera in my pocket and not in the glove box of the car.
I don’t know if there was some sort of settlement up here or whether the area was used for seasonal camps or what. But the amount of flint I found milling about the fields on the common for a hour suggest something was going on here.
The fields are ploughed regularly each year and have been well manured in the past judging by the amount of ‘blue and white’ pottery and bits of clay pipe that are also to be found here.
Minninglow’s trees are visible on southern horizon; only a stones throw away really.
As with the nearby One Ash round barrow there’s nothing to see here its so ploughed out. Supposedly 40m long and 10m wide perhaps its the long grass that masks its presence but I somehow doubt it.
A trench was dug across the barrow within the last 30years but the findings were never published.
As with Harrod Low, the barrow for its type, is in a relatively low lying spot.
Pottery and flint have been found in the mole hills around the monument suggesting a camp perhaps.
Marked as Tumulus on the 1:25000 map of the White Peak this barrow deserves its badly plough damaged label in Barnatt’s Barrow Corpus. In the ankle length thick grass there was nothing to be seen.
Arbor Low’s banks are visible on the near horizon as is Chelmorton Low farther away in the distance; the two barrows that crown it just about visible.
Situated on the high point of Crackendale Pasture is this odd little barrow that has previously been described, by Bateman, as lobated and, by J. Barnatt and the NMR, amorphic and badly disturbed.
On the ground it looks pretty much the same as any other Peak barrow except for the three spokes or limbs that protrude from it. A square set stone as also been set on the barrow for some reason.
Fine views towards Fin Cop and Longstone Edge.
I’m guessing this should have a ‘Disputed Antiquity’ label really....
I came across a reference to this stone on the Parwich Village History website last year, where they suggest it to be possibly prehistoric.
It was first mentioned in a 15th Century document as The Holleston....the website translates this as being The Holestone; and if it’s one thing this stone has it is plenty of holes.
The 19th/20th Century iron work hinges put me off a bit.....but hey and in its favour its only a couple of fields away from the standing stone mentioned in the ‘HER’ at Hawkslow Farm.
This Bronze Age field system/settlement is worth a look if you’re in the area.
Covering around 900 square metres there is plenty to see in the form of field boundaries, cairns and an enclosure containing some kinda 3/4 stone alignment.
March 2004 when I visited the remains were pretty clear of heather and moorland grass; wouldn’t know if that’s the case now.
Follow the track to the SE from the Bar Dyke, SK246946, for about a quarter of a mile until you are directly above the Agden Side Road.
Watched this ring cairn/robbed cairn slowly become overgrown over the last 10years.
If it’s a ring cairn it’s a good one. And if it’s a robbed out cairn then it was a big cairn.
There’s plenty to see on Masson Hill. Crowning almost the very top is this barrow. the barrow is surrounded by caves, victorian show caverns (if you know the still open secreted entrances to them), mine shafts, mine levels, q-pits, gardens, cable cars and meres.....
Been 8years since I last was at Offerton West. So overgrown was it back then that I wasn’t in a hurry to return.....gave it another shot today and the circle/ring cairn is quite prominent now, although the damaged western side is covered in dying bracken.
Worth a look. Photos dont really do it justice.
Now missing its centre and western side this would’ve at one time been quite an impressive cairn. It overlooks the settlement and field systems on the improved Highlow Bank.
From the standing stone, follow the wall east for a couple of hundred yards. When the wall changes direction the cairn is visible over the wall.
This is quite a large cairn, somewhere around 20 or so metres in diameter and less disturbed than its northern neighbour. A ring of gritstone kerbstones surround it.
SK22481 85614.
Parking at Dennis Knoll the cairn is about three quarters of a mile away on the top of Stanage Edge. The first half mile is all up hill with a final rocky scramble up to the Edge proper.
I’d left Matlock bathing in the sun under clear blue skies, but here only 20miles North, the wind howled up along Stanage Edge blowing in rain and hail storms every few minutes.
The north cairn at Crow Chin is around 20m in diameter and ringed by a gritstone kerb. Several smaller cairns from the excavation lie beyond its rim on the north side. And the stones of the dismantled cist within the cairn circumference to the south.
On a clearer day the views out over Win Hill, Lose Hill and Crook Hill would be superb.
SK22469 85614.
This is now under an open access/right to roam area.
Approaching from the south along the Duke’s Drive that crosses the moor.....get to the old reservoir keepers house (now RSPB) keep to the vehicle track to the left and through the gate (as it skirts the property) 200m further on keep looking to the right, the circle is between the track and a large grassy/bracken clearing 50m from the track......there’s a quite well worn path around the circles circumference.
This small barrow of earth and stones, 7m x7m and below 0.5m in height, lies by the side of an ancient trackway. It has outstanding views through the valley to the hillfort/enclosure at Carl Wark.
Atop the barrow is a wayside cross base known as the Baptism Stone or Christening Stone.
Think the stones visible in the hollow on top of the barrow are in fact the remains of a lime kiln.
Around 120m from the cairn Harland Edge SW (b) this circular cairn of around 6m in diameter is also overgrown and again probably related to a settlement or something below Harland Edge to the south (Harland Sick).
Unless you are walking Harland Edge then there’s not a lot to make you want to find this cairn. It’s roughly 5x4m in diameter and just visible above the scrub and heather.
From its position just below Harland Edge proper I would say it’s more than likely related to the settlement on Harewood Moor or perhaps one below the ‘edge’ itself rather than those on Beeley or Gibbet Moor.
Excellent views south over the remaining Eastern Moors to the White Peak in the south.
Small area consisting of a cairnfield and linear field clearance just about visible above the moorland grass a couple of hundred metres from the Millstone Sick. The NMR states that a house stance/platform is also visible but I couldn’t find or make that bit out for certain.
The NMR also records the possibility of a stone circle on Harewood Moor. In his books John Barnatt does not mention it however, and my search of the area has yielded nothing up to now.
In all the remains are not really worth the effort of a special journey, although the boundary stone that stands in an improved field and is known from the 16th century perambulations as Shirle Forke, approx. SK305670 and engraved with crosses is worth checking out in itself.
There are said to be 6 small cairns here, 2 of which are said to be definitely funerary because of their formal lay out i.e kerbs and dished interiors, but the area is so overgrown in thick heather or last years bracken that there is nothing to be seen on the surface.
Approximately 300m from the cairn at Fallinge Edge.
As Postman says very overgrown now...only two of the cairns remain visible and a small section of the kerbstones.
The rectangular setting nearby is now completely heather covered.
It’s not really worth the effort of the 800m or so rough and wet moorland crossing from the Raven Tor Triple Cairn to this small funerary cairn on Fallinge Edge.
It’s hard to tell whether the cairn’s been excavated at some time in the past or not. Although some of the stone has been robbed, no doubt when the nearby quarries were working, as half the cairn is only discernable from the ring of kerbstones that remain.
Around 7m in diameter and perhaps 0.4m in height.
Rainster Rocks lies near the south western end of a chain of dolomitic limestone outcrops that start in the north east at Harboro’ Rocks moving through Longcliffe Crags and finishing at Black Rocks.
Smaller in area than Harboro’ or Longcliffe the outcrop at Rainster is impressive because of its height.
With both the outcrops to the NE having a prehistory, (Harboro’ Rocks where a Neolithic passage grave was erected and a Neolithic cave burial was located along with signs of Palaeolithic activity and Longcliffe Crags where Rains Cave is sited), I’ve often wondered about Rainster Rocks and whether they were an important part of the ancient landscape.
So over the last 5 or 6 years I’ve been searching the area around the rocks for any kind of evidence. At the south side of the rocks is a Romano-British settlement and lead rake and this is noted in the NMR.
The area is also heavily marked with Medieval ridge and furrow so any chance of finding a long lost barrow wasn’t on the cards....but what there was was a prolific amount of mole hills....so I took my chance with them after successes with this method elsewhere in the Peak.
After a year or two with no success I started to take the lads up there with me to help me look....I showed them a piece of flint so they knew roughly what they were looking for and the youngest promptly went to a mole hill and recovered what looked to be a flint awl.
That was all that we found and nothing more turned up for several years until this year. Checking the mole hills this year I’ve found up to now what looks to be the rough out of a small flint axe and also a small quartzite celt (at least I think thats what they are, I’m trying to get in touch with the small finds officer at Derby’s museum to confirm my beliefs).
While I know that a couple of random finds prove nothing the rocks lie within 2 miles of the Neolithic/Mesolithic sites of Minninglow Hill and Tithe Farm, the Mesolithic site at Hoe Grange and the Neolithic sites at Roystone Rocks and Curzon Lodge.
I wouldn’t swear to it but I think this barrow has been lost to the Grange Mill Quarry.......I couldn’t find it after a long time festering around the area along the edge of the quarry.
Even more plough damaged than Slipper Low and no real reason to make a visit. Never been excavated....strange seen as Bateman was so close to it in the mid 19th Century.
Standing by several walling stone quarries. Measuring around 17 x 14m in diameter, several kerbstones are visible, the low mound looks very messed about with. Maybe the wall builders stripped most of the usable stone before sinking their quarry.
Over the last 6 years since making my misc post I’ve been back to Long Dale too many times to recall looking for some kinda evidence of the Neolithic settlement/camp that is said to be in the area of the barrow of the same date. Nothing remains on the surface as in earthworks or depressions so I’ve been going solely on flint finds from the many mole hills in the area. And so my best guess is it would’ve probably been around 100m to the east of the barrow as I’ve found, getting on for several hundred pieces of waste flint flakes here but nothing else in the area.
Shouldn’t really be up here at Cow Low as it’s located on land belonging to the huge limestone quarry of Tunstead Works. It lies in a small plantation on the edge of the quarry which when in it’s original context would’ve enjoyed views south across Wye Dale to Topley Pike and east across Great Rocks Dale and possibly Woo Dale to the west. As for the north who knows the massive gaping quarry has seen to the landscape here.
Through all this there are still the remains of Romano-British field system and settlement that survive in the form of low earthworks.
Still quite impressive at 28x24m and a little under 2m in height, I couldn’t resist coming here because of the burials the barrow was found to contain (see misc post below).
Located on private land in the Low Plantation...there is a path in the fields south of the barrow that leads from Home Farm, just off the Fairfield estate, to Lowfoot Farm.
Measuring around the 19m mark in diameter and around 1m in height the barrow is in fairly good condition although overgrown.
Nothing really here to make you want to visit it especially
These two barrows are located in a field NW of the Castlegate Lane barrow above Hay Dale.
Both are plough damaged and possibly robbed of stone for the wall that crosses the larger of the two mounds.
The eastern barrow measures about 9m and is well below a metre in height, the larger to the west maybe 13x6m and maybe 1m in height.
Neither have been excavated which seems strange as Bateman was only in the next field during in 1851 at the Castlegate Lane barrow.
Locals call this section of Castlegate Lane Scratter......in fact it’s the route of the Old Portway making its way to the hillfort of Burr Tor before carrying on to Mam Tor.
The barrow is in a field halfway up scratter opposite the entrance to Chertpit Lane and sited some way from the slopes of Hay Dale. Measuring around 14x12m and less than a metre high it looks as if the plough has taken its toll on this barrow but it enjoys extensive views to the south, east and west.
Sited on the northern side of Monsal Dale this disturbed round cairn is crossed by three field walls....more than possible it was robbed to construct them.
Nothing here really to recommend a visit although it has fine views across the dale toward Fin Cop hillfort.
There’s a track leading off the Monsal Trail heading toward Brushfield Hough; the cairn is in the fields above this....it is private land.
The two concessionary footpaths are due to close in November 2011.