05/05. The Round Hill barrow, the henge it once sat in the middle of....long since ploughed out.
stubob
This is a lovely looking stone. So its unacknowledged position under a large conifer by the side of the path in York Museum’s Gardens seems a little odd.
I e-mailed the museum later in the week to find out something about the stone, and was informed that it was one of two stones discovered on the moors around Whitby and given to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society by Canon Raines in 1895. It’s partner is now lost.
“Severn Trent’s contribution to the long-standing tradition of Derbyshire hill top monuments”….
That’s what it says on the info board….and that’s what keeps going over and over through your mind when you look at Carsington Water’s Stones Island.....On it are without doubt, the crappiest collection, of the most ugly looking manufactured stones ever assembled together in a sorta circle (?) fashion...
Shame when you consider the Bronze Age barrow that, until quite recently, went unnoticed/unacknowledged by the waters edge on the northern side of Stones Island was gonna be the centrepiece….
A causeway linking the 40m between the reservoirs shoreline and the 28m diameter mound was soon forgotten when later Anglo-Saxon burials were also found…fearing possible hoards of metal detector carrying folk…
The idea was scrapped in favour of today’s visual delight.
There’s been a half-hearted attempt to make something of the barrow of late….
An archway in the style of a Bronze Age roundhouse over the path to the barrow and a model showing the stratigraphy….which is pretty useless without a board explaining what it’s all about.
All that aside the Hognaston barrow is still worth a visit….even if it’s only for the “you’ve flooded a valley and I’m still here…….Bring it on” factor.
“Proceeding from the circle at Coldrum, towards the east, we observed single stones, of the same kind and of the same colossal magnitude, scattered over the fields for some distance; and it is the tradition of the peasantry that a continuous line of such stones ran from Coldrum direct along the valley to the hill of Kit’s Coty House, a distance of between 5-6 miles”
The author accompanied by Mr Larking then set off to trace the route of the stones “For a large portion of the journey”.
“I was informed that the stones had even be found in the bottom of the river, where there seems to be an ancient ford. It must be remarked that these stones, or boulders, belong to the geological formation of this area, and many of them may have attained their present position by natural causes. But from a tolerably careful examination, we were led to believe that there once existed an avenue of stones connecting the cemetery of Kit’s Coty House to the parish of Addlington – together they seem to have formed a grand necropolis for the Belgian settlers in this part of the island”.
Extracts from “Wanderings of an Antiquary” by Thomas Wright 1777.
Extract from:
‘Spirit of the Stones – Visions of Sacred Britain.’ Alan Richardson 2001.
“When Elizabeth Anderton visited Arbor Low on May 1st, or Beltaine, she started fooling about on the central stones – and immediately regretted it….”
“….Something made me turn and from the north was a dark black wall, and in seconds we were engulfed by darkness a howling wind and a storm of rain and very large hailstones. There was no shelter, I tried to shield behind a larger stone, but it felt like I was being flayed by the hail….”
Have a quick flick to the back of the book….
“…Alan Richardson has brought together a collection of outstanding experiences”
Just the usual run of the mill weather for Arbor Low Alan....Get with the program.
“I do know a story about the Merry Maidens, and it is a true story”.
“In 1907 an emmet (an outsider) from England bought the farm where the Merry Maidens stone circle stands. Thinking that the stones lessened the value of the field, the new owner ordered one of his workers to pull them down and add them to the stone walls surrounding the meadow”.
The worker, a Cornishman, protested, but the Englishman insisted: “This is my field, and I’ll do with it what I please, and you’ll do as I say!”
Next day the Cornishman hitched up three shire horses to a chain and began the task. Anyway, while pulling over the first stone the lead horse panicked, reared up, then fell over dead.
Reporting this to his master, the Cornishman asked if he should fetch another horse for the task.
“No,” said the landowner. “Set the stone back upright. We’ll pull the lot of them down later.”
But the stone circle was left undisturbed, and remains so to this day.
Daniel Bowen Craigue. May 2002.
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.
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”.
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.
‘Dosmery Pool amid the moores,
On top stands of a hill;
More than a mile about, no streams
It empt, nor any fill‘
Richard Carew 16th Century.
“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.
“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.
Brund Low is a corkin’ barrow, around 40m in diameter and possibly 1.8m in height.
One of a handful of barrows situated around the Upper Manifold Valley. Although Brund Low doesn’t occupy any of the local high ground like its neighbours. Instead it appears to mirror the almost ‘barrow-shaped’ lump of Sheen Hill, coupla hundred yards away to the NE.
Excavated by Carrington 1851 and Sheldon 1894.
A small cairn within the mound was found to be covering a small pit containing a human cremation. Flint scrapers, human bone and bronze artefacts were also recovered.
Carrington also found 2 small stones each with a single cup mark. (Stored: Sheffield’s Weston Park Museum.)
Almost completely lost to several centuries of the plough, the barrow’s dimensions are pretty tricky to calculate.
Ah well. T’aint too bad as the barrow’s isolated location along with the great views from up here to a number of other Bronze Age burials in the vicinity more than make up for its unexciting proportions.
Excavated by Bateman snr and Mitchell in 1825.
They uncovered a human burial within a rock cut grave, and some evidence for later re-use.
Excavation info: J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
The barrow is on private land.
Quite low, no more than 75cm in height, the tree covered barrow is roughly 19 x 16m in diameter.
On the whole this mound is typical of the barrows that have survived on the enclosed farmland of the White Peak.
Surprisingly(?) both Batemans dug this mound, William first in the 1820’s followed by son Thomas 20yrs later. A large number of finds were recorded. Consisting of an inhumation in a rock cut grave, a bronze dagger and a handful of quartz pebbles.
Elsewhere within the mound a polished stone axe, stone battleaxe, flint and bone tools along with sherds of Beaker pottery were found.
Further evidence revealed a re-use of the barrow in Romano-Britsh and Anglo-Saxon era.
The knoll is one of the ‘woodlands for the millenium schemes’ and so seems to be an excuse to pile a few millstones together and throw a meaningful poetic plaque at them. The view however is superb with barrows on horizons near and far in every direction.
Access is from the Mount Pleasant Farm side of the knoll.
Excavation info:
J.Barnatt’s “Barrow Corpus”
As with many of the barrows in this area of the Peak, Larks Low has been somewhat rattled by the plough.
Today the barrow measures approx. 12 x 9m in diameter, and stands to a height of 50-75cm. A rock cut grave covered by a limestone slab held several cremations and a inhumation.
Animal bones, a small burial urn, quartz pebbles and a bronze pin/point were also recovered.
A nice enough little barrow tucked away in a very quiet corner of the Peak, 800m walk through the dry (most of the year) wooded limestone valley of Rusden.
Finds from:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
Almost ploughed out. Only the slightest mound remains here, in diameter it’s maybe 17m or so...tricky to say.
The location of the barrow and its views over to Aleck Low, Minninglow and Kenslow Knoll are still impressive even if the barrow is not.
Thomas Bateman excavated here a coupla times in the 1840’s, his old fella, William, had already given the barrow a seeing to 20yrs earlier.
The barrow turned up a number of flint tools (?) and waste flakes…Three burials from the Romano-British period were also found in the barrow….
(info on finds: J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”)
02/05. Looking west across a shallow saddle in the hillside to the second of the Cross Low barrows.
Around 24 x 17m in diameter and getting on for 2m high. This barrow is impressive in its own right...
But all the same it kinda struggles to get noticed with the exposed chambers of the huge Minning Low 30m away to the SE.
Like its neighbour the barrow saw of long period of use and several phases of construction.
Thomas Bateman dug the barrow in 1843 and 1849 and found that it was in fact two burial mounds, a secondary earthen barrow being built against an earlier stone cairn.
Bateman found the cairn’s cist holding the primary burial had already been disturbed. A second cremation was also found.
The large earthen barrow too covered a cremation, as well as Flint knives, bone tools and burnt bronze knife or razor.
Info on finds from:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B. Marden’s “The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire”
11/02. The Bronze Age barrow, a handful of metres away from the Neolithic chambers of Minning Low.
03/05. Minninglow sunset. Looking west-ish from the remains of Slipper Low.
03/05. Taken from Haven Hill looking west across the dale to Wigber Low. The cairn is visible on the knolls horizon.
03/05. Snow filled ditches of the ‘alleged’ henge of Arbor Low II.
My local barrow.
In diameter the barrow’s maybe 20m and approx. 1.75m in height. It survives in tact; never excavated. On the western side of the mound a shallow ditch remains, highlighted today by the remains of the recent snow.
Rising up outta Matlock Dale opposite the limestone cliffs of High Tor, Masson is one of the Peak’s great hills sitting on the south-eastern edge of the White Peak, it’s also one of the last before reaching the plains that stretch northwards from Chesterfield.
The views from up here are excellent. The flood plains of the Trent are to the south with Shardlow’s power stations marking the location of the henge complexes and cursus that once stood there. Stanton Moor, Longstone Edge, Froggat Edge and the hills of the Dark Peak beyond, are to the north.
Minninglow hill, and its beech trees are visible from most of the Peak’s high ground….and from many of the White Peak’s barrows. From here it’s three quarters of a mile away to the west.
Masson’s barrow however is one of only a small handful of burial mounds to have a proper two way thing going on with Minning Low.
The concrete slab on top the barrow is for the base of a trig point, Masson;s summit only being 100yds to the east.
02/05. First sight of the ‘Stride’ viewed from Elton Common, heading north along the Old Portway.
Only down the road from Thomas Bateman’s gaff, so it’s no surprise to find he’s been round it.
His dig of 1848 uncovered 2 disturbed burials, a bone point and several flint tools.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B. Marsden’s “The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire”
Thomas Bateman arrived at Aleck Low in 1843. His usual ‘partial’ dig of the mound uncovered a crouched burial, a cremation, pottery pieces and some flint artefacts.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B.Marsden ‘The Burial Mounds of Derbys‘
Both the Batemans excavated here, William in 1825 and then his son Thomas in 1849.
Two crouched burials were recorded, one in a cist the other a rock cut grave. Among the other finds a human cremation and flint artefacts.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B.Marsden ‘The Burial Mounds of Derbys‘
This barrow has only been partially excavated, the work carried out by an amateur in the 1970’s. Human bones and a complete ‘food vessel’ were discovered, along with pottery pieces from the later Romano-British period.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B.Marsden ‘The Burial Mounds of Derbys‘
Excavated by Bateman on two occasions, 1843 and 1847. During which he unearthed the primary burial, a crouched skeleton, on the old ground surface in the centre of the barrow. A later burial was also found higher up in the mound, the human remains here contained within a cist.
B. Marsden also partially explored the mound in the early 1970’s; he too found a burial on the old ground surface, as well as pieces of human and animal bones and a number of flint artefacts.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B.Marsden ‘The Burial Mounds of Derbys‘
Thomas Bateman excavated part of the barrow in 1848, uncovering a pottery urn containing flint artefacts and the remains of a human cremation.
info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
B Marsden’s “The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire”
This is another Peak cave that has, in its time, been known as Hob Hurst’s House.
‘Fiddling Hob’ was said to occupy the cave, the screeching of his fiddle audible the length of the Manifold Valley.
LS Palmer excavated here in 1925. His discoveries included the remains of 10 individuals, mostly children. Stone tools and pottery shards.
Dated to the Iron Age.
Large barrow measuring 40 x 30m, and 2m high. Even viewed from the lane, which is as about as close as you can get to it, it’s an impressive looking beast.
It’s not yet known for certain as to whether the details that exist for an excavation carried out in 1852, when a skeleton and bronze dagger were discovered, refers to this barrow or not.
Excavation info:
J.Barnatt’s & J. Collis’ “Barrow Corpus”
Decided to check out the group of barrows near the villages of Osmaston and Edlaston.
This barrow was a bit, no alot of a surprise, it’s bloody massive. Measuring some 45 x 50m in diameter, and around 4m high the barrow is in excellent condition.
Close to Thomas Bateman’s patch, the barrow somehow escaped his attention.
It’s a pretty easy walk of nearly a mile to this huge barrow, parking by the church in Osmaston village, although you have to leave the path by the stream in the bottom to get to the barrow.