Perhaps something enlightening about the ‘miniliths’ / ‘stone coffins’ mentioned in peoples’ fieldnotes / photos:
Two cists in the churchyard were placed there in 1871, having been dug out of a field near by in 1869.
On reflection, quite an odd thing to do (unless the vicar was an antiquarian himself, which is possible. Still, to put them in the churchyard rather than the rectory garden?)
from ‘Standing Stones and Stone Circles in Yorkshire’ by A L Lewis, in
Man, v14 (1914), pp163-6.
Some gleanings from Jerome F Heavey’s article ‘The Heele Stone’ in Folklore 88, no2, pp238-9 (1977).
The name ‘Heel Stone’ is at least three centuries old: John Aubrey mentioned a certain stone that had a large depression shaped like a friar’s heel. The story hasn’t changed much since that time – basically the Devil threw a stone at a friar who’d been spying on the construction of stonehenge, and it struck him on the heel, and his heel left an imprint.
Heavey suggests the name actually comes from the most obvious characteristic of the stone – the fact it ‘heels’ or tilts. This word was in the written language with this meaning in the 16th century, and doubtless in use for much longer before that..
Whatever, the story about the friar and the devil conveniently explains the position of the stone too, lying some distance from the main stones, and looking for all the world as though it could have been thrown there. Heavey does conclude by admitting ‘we shall never know’, though.
I think this poor promontory fort only survives now in the name of a few roads – I’m not even sure that the roads follow the curve of its boundary..
ST 821611. A “burial mound” due to be destroyed by building development was in fact the last vestige of the rampart of a double-ditched promontory fort of Early Iron Age date.
The remainder of the rampart – some 370 metres in length – had been totally destroyed by gardens and buildings. Within the rampart occurred the remains of a rectangular building 6m x 3m with an internal clay hearth. This building and its environs produced great quantities of EIA pottery together with domestic appliances and metal objects. [..]
(this is the summary on BIAB of J G Wainwright’s 1970 article in WANHM
biab.ac.uk/online/results1.asp?ItemID=79989 )
Another dig took place in 2009. wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/4498618.Bradford_on_Avon_couple_hope_garden_holds_key_to_hill_fort/
PILLAR-STONES AT GARRYDUFF.-- [The stone is] noticed by Mr. Tighe in his Survey of the County of Kilkenny (p.627). It is between eleven and twelve feet high, and three feet in breadth at six feet from the ground, where it is widest; being about two feet six inches wide at the ground. It is cracked down the middle.
There is said to have been another, about half the size, a few yards from it; this was sunk in the earth by digging a pit under it, about fourteen years ago. Nothing remarkable was found in making the excavation, as he learned from the man on whose land it stood, and who helped to destroy it. Mr. Tighe makes no mention of this second stone. The remaining stone is called “the long stone of Garryduff.” It stands in a valley between two hills. There are no traditions about it [..].
p389 in the Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society v1, pt 3 (1851) – on Google Books.
Is that a small stone in the hedge in Ryaner’s photo?
William Copeland Borlase suggests the stone is called
”Cloch Fhada Gharaidh Duibh, the Long-stone of Garraidh Dubh, or Garryduff. Garad, we may add, was the name of one of the chieftains who commanded the Fianna under Finn Mac Cumhail at the battle of Cnamhros..”
see
books.google.co.uk/books?id=wvJMAAAAMAAJ&q=garryduff+stone&dq=garryduff+stone&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1
I don’t know how tenuous this is. Pretty tenuous probably.
Apparently the wording on the sculpture at the barrow reads:
At badocks wood ghostly windmill sails turn and like a rewound film spin through history to remote times when this was burial place for bronze aged warrior in that landscape wolves prowled and nervy red deer grazed while hog rooted among trees
This website has plenty of information about the wood and its history; the site is now a Local Nature Reserve.
Mr Rasbotham, a Lancashire magistrate in the last century, describes the ancient monuments called the Wilder Lads, as they existed in 1776:
Upon the summit of Horwich Moor lie the Wilder Lads, two rude piles of stone, so called from the popular tradition of the country, that they were erected in memory of two boys who were wildered (that is, bewildered), and lost in the snow at this place.
They may be seen at a considerable distance. They are undoubtedly of very high antiquity, and were originally united by a circular mound, above three quarters of which as yet remains visible. Their circumference is about twenty-six and a half feet, and the passage betwixt them six and a half feet.
From Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine vol XLI, 1837 (p752).
There are some districts where the number and size of the erratics have given rise to the wildest legends of warlocks and elfins. Such a locality occurs between Carnwath and the river Clyde. Here, before farming operations were carried to the extent to which they have now arrived, large boulders, now mostly removed, were scattered so abundantly over the mossy tract between the river and the Yelping Craig, about two miles to the east, that one place was known familiarly as “Hell-stanes Gate” [road], and another “Hell-stanes Loan.” The traditional story ran that the stones had been brought by supernatural agency from the Yelping Craigs. Michael Scott and the devil, it appears, had entered into a compact with a band of witches to dam the Clde. It was one of the conditions of the agreement that the name of the Supreme Being should never on any account be mentioned. All went well for a while, some of the stronger spirits having brought their burden of boulders to within a few yards from the river, when one of the younger members of the company, staggering under the weight of a huge block of greenstone, exclaimed, “O Lord, but I’m tired.” Instantly every boulder tumbled to the ground, nor could witch, warlock, or devil move a single stone one yard further. And there the blocks lay for many a long century, until the rapacious farmers quarried them away for dykes and road-metal.
(The crags at Hare Law are called ‘Yelping Craigs’ on the modern OS map).
From Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow, v 1 pt2 (1863).
On assembling round the monolith, the Rev. E. M. Cole, M.A., gave an interesting description of this massive monument of the past. He stated that there were numerous theories put forward to account for the presence of the stone, the most prevalent opinion being that it is “a thunderbolt dropped from the clouds, which stuck in the ground point first.” Others think that it was thrown at the church by the devil – and just missed the chancel!
This article also contains some information about its hat:
The parish register contains a quaint description of the monolithwritten by one of the parish clerks. After a rough pen-and-ink sketch of the monolith appears the following:-
This is nearly the form of a stone wch stands at ye east end of Rudston Church, within ye churchyard, which is situated on an high hill. There are no authorities to be depended upon in regard to either the time, manner, or occasion of its erection. It is almost quite grown over with moss from top to bottom.
In the year 1773 its top being observed to decay through the rains descent upon it, Mrs. Bosville ordered a small cap of lead to be put on it in order to preserve it, wch was accordingly done.
Its dimensions within ground are as large as those without, as appears from an experiment made by ye late Sr. Wm. Strickland, of Boynton.
From the Hull Scientific Club’s visit, recorded in the Leeds Mercury, Sat. May 20th, 1899.
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Mr Stuart, Secretary, stated that, in consequence of reports of the recent destruction of a remarkable Stone Circle near the old Castle of Moyness, in Nairnshire, belonging to Lord Cawdor, he had communicated with his Lordship’s factor on the subject. From the answer of that gentleman, it appeared that the reports in question had been greatly exaggerated.When the present line of road was made many years ago, it was carried through the circle, and many stones removed, but no recent encroachment on the circle [..] has taken place [..].
The supposed “rocking-stone” consisted of one of the upright pillars which had fallen over some smaller ones, leaving an end unsupported, and by jumping on this end a heavy man could just move it. The only change that has taken place on the circle for years, is the removal of this pillar for some purpose by the tenant’s consent, but without the knowledge of the landlord or his factor, and orders have now been given to prevent any interference with the fragment of the circle still existing.
Mr Stuart remarked that it was agreeable to find so general an interest on this subject, as the supposed destruction of the circle had excited a feeling of indignation in all parts of the country.
From the Caledonian Mercury, Wed. April 16th, 1856.
We hear from Huntly, that on the morning of the 2d of February current, being the Marquis of Huntly’s birth-day, the inhabitants [..] and tenants in that neighbourhood, to the number of two thousand and upwards [assembled at Huntly Lodge] where the healths of the day was liberally drank, with many cheers. His Lordship soon after set off to Gordon Castle, when the people marched back to Huntly, and erected large bonfires on the streets, which continued burning throughout the day. [..and] continued blazing for the night, and the old Standing Stones of Huntly were twenty times washed over with good Highland whiskey.
From the pages of the Caledonian Mercury, Sat. Feb 11th, 1804.
Mothy’s post mentions Allegedly Discredited earthlights during the 60s and 70s, and perhaps that’s what the following relates to – but that would still be an interesting merging of ancient and modern folklore themes?
Cley Hill was the home of the king of the Wiltshire fairies, who was responsible for the lights seen there.
Apparently from Mike Howard’s article, ‘Contacts with unreality’, in 3rd Stone 19: 4-5 (summary taken from the Alternative Approaches to Folklore bibliography by Jeremy Harte, here:
hoap.co.uk/aatf1.rtf
Today I was perusing Rupert Matthews’ ‘Haunted Places of Wiltshire’ (2004) and noticed a story about a large stone on Cley Hill, which was supposed to have a carving of the Devil (yep the Devil himself)’s face on its underside. And anyone turning it over would have to deal with Unpleasant Consequences.
I see a stone is mentioned in one of the miscellaneous posts below.. is it still there?
Quite close to here (somewhere near NJ 956 444) was
Upper Crichie Circle. -- This circle was destroyed nearly one hundred years ago, according to the testimony of one whose father was witness to the destruction.
It would appear the stones were sold by the tenant en bloc, to aid in building a steading. Not long after it was noted that his family were visited by illness, one after the other dying. The superstition of these days was at no loss in assigning a cause.
From
‘Notice of Stone Circles in the Parish of Old Deer’ by the Rev. James Peter, in PSAS v19 (1884-5) – this on p375.
The article can be read at the ADS website.
ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_019/19_370_377.pdf
‘Notice of Stone Circles in the Parish of Old Deer’ by the Rev. James Peter, in PSAS v19 (1884-5).
Includes some super line drawings of the stones at Strichen and White Cow Wood.
From James Boswell’s ‘The Life of Samuel Johnson’ (1832), p357, and refering to their visit in the 1770s?:
We set out at about nine. Dr. Johnson was curious to see one of those structures, which northern antiquarians call a Druid’s temple. I had a recollection of one at Strichen, which I had seen fifteen years ago; so we went four miles out of our road, after passing Old Deer, and went thither. Mr. Fraser, the proprietor, was at home, and showed it to us. But I had augmented it in my mind; for all that remains is two stones set up on end, with a long one laid upon them, as was usual, and one stone at a little distance from them. That stone was the capital one of the circle which surrounded what now remains.
A little more on Gormire, the lake beneath the bank, which you can see here in Robokid’s fine photo:
themodernantiquarian.com/post/66262/images/hood_hill_stone_kilburn.html
The village oracles relate that this awful abyss was produced by a tremendous earthquake, which ingulphed a populous town and its secure inhabitants, in a moment of unexpected calamity, leaving behind it a body of waters unfathomable and bottomless.
From the same [r]espectable authority, it is asserted, that the tops of the house, and the desolate chimneys are sometimes visible to the astonished eyes of the stranger, when embarked on its mysterious surface. [..]
.. the natural beauties of this lake are amply sufficient to repay the visitor for any labour he may have in approaching its rocky margin.
From ‘A brief description of public interest in the county of York’ by Alfred E Hargrove, p128 (1843).
books.google.co.uk/books?id=NrgHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA128
The Butterstone on Cotherston Moor. --
[..] It was during the great plague of 1636, which desolated the whole of the North of England, that the Butterstone received its name. The fairs and markets of Barnard CAstle and the neighbouring towns were “cried down,” to prevent the spread of the infection, and the country-people had to devise methods for the exchange of their products.Tradition has handed down that a large brazen vessel, constantly kept full of water, stood upon the Butterstone. The farmers brought their butter and eggs and placed them on the stone, and then retired; upon which the inhabitnats of the towns assembled, and putting money in the basin, took away the articles left.
The sale of wheat and cattle was effected in the same manner. Sacks of wheat were brought to the spot, and the purchaser, on his arrival, carted them away, leaving what he considered to be their value in money: cattle were secured by ropes, and the bargain was similarly concluded – the value being confided to the judgment or honesty of the buyer.
The Butterstone is situated in the parish of Romaldkirk, which was almost depopulated by the pestilence.
So plausibly put you could even believe it, in ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ v202 p224 (1857).
books.google.co.uk/books?id=BGV_qyBZ9LoC&pg=PA224
‘Our British Ancestors: Who and what were they?’ by the Rev. Samuel Lysons.
MA, FSA, and Rector of Rodmarton he may have been, but he did write a considerable amount of guff which you will have to wade through. I suppose it’s not his fault, but for some reason he thinks the Ancient Britons spoke Hebrew (or something similar), so all his theories are peppered with it.
Anyway, overlooking this, he owned the land on which the long barrow stands. He had been ‘discouraged’ by his father and uncle in his youth, but in May 1863 (when no doubt they were dead and couldn’t complain) he thought he’d have it dug up a bit.
What is so interesting are the illustrations – it seems that the two stones at the East end are very big (8ft 6” – can this be true?) and they had a low wall between them, and another large stone resting on them at an angle. There are also diagrams of the N and S chambers, with their huge covering stones. On page 160 ther’s a great drawing of the ‘porthole’ style chamber entrance. He disturbs the 13 peaceful occupants and their ‘finely wrought’ flints yet has the nerve to talk about earlier barrow diggers as ransackers and riflers; having been there today it makes me feel a bit sad.
There are two bowl barrows here, but I’m not sure how much you will see. Presumeably they are being protected from the plough, as they are on the scheduled monument list [looking on Flash Earth this may not be true]. (For obsessives,) could be worth a glance on the way back to the main road from Windmill Tump.
They were both built of small stones, which came from the ditches that once surrounded them. The info on Magic says that they are on a ridge with panoramic views.
J Akerman and J Chubb dug into them in 1856 – it’s mentioned in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries here:
books.google.co.uk/books?id=YTUGAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA17
They found a Roman coin from about 200AD in addition to the prehistoric urn fragments, charcoal, bone and flint in the centre of the mound.
I unexpectedly found myself near Windmill Tump today, so popped in for a visit. It’s quite different at this time of year, without leaves on the trees, and without the tangles of vegetation beneath, and all the lumps and bumps are exposed, making it much easier to understand what you’re looking at. Crunching through the beechmast I expected to see more stones around the side chambers, but everything was mossy or covered by a carpet of short grass and other plants.
I did some sketches, but the length of the barrow kept squashing itself up on the page. I tried to draw the stones with some pastels, but the colours eluded me. Never mind, the process of drawing gave me that curious ‘attentive / relaxed’ meditative state, and I felt peaceful.. apart from the racket that was coming from somewhere nearby, out of sight.. something agricultural maybe. It would have been a blissful picnic spot there today but for that noise.
A word on access – there’s a steep bit up from the road (a few feet) and you can either step through a little squeezy bit at the side, or I did notice the big farm gate is unlocked, so you could open that. The 200m(?) to the barrow is a nice flat wide path (with loads of daisies), and then it’s a short flat nip across the oil-seed rape (look out for all the bright blue speedwell in between) to the barrow (the wide gate here was propped open). So I’d say it was pretty accessible now (compared to when Kammer visited), assuming you can make the distance from the road.
I did notice on the barrow that there were patches of violets, strawberry, dogs mercury, arum, and something decidedly oniony looking which I assume will be in flower soon, along with the patches of bluebells. So, I heartily recommend it for a spring visit soon.
I was just watching a programme presented by Julian Richards, about Roman roads near Cirencester. He claimed that one of the roads heading in / out of the town (White Way) deliberately makes a dog-leg to avoid the Tar Barrow, showing the amount of respect between the invading Romans and the resident Dobunni.
Looking at the map it’s ‘kind of’ convincing. I’d have thought it was a bit hard to say really. I shouldn’t argue with Mr Richards but then again there is such a thing as Making Good Television.
There are actually two ‘Tar Barrows’ and they have a bit of folklore. They show how facts are a nuisance when you’re Making Good Folklore, also:
GLOS. Cirencester: (S)Tarbury barrow. ‘East of the town, about a quarter of a mile, is a mount or barrow called Starbury, where several gold coins have been dug up, of about the time of Julian, which we saw.’ This must be the same as Tar Barrows, from which an account written about 1685 refers to urns full of coins among the finds, the rest of which show the story to have been greatly ‘improved’ in the telling.
W. Stukeley, Itin. Curios., 2nd edn. (1776), 67; Trans. B. and G.A.S. 79 (1961), 51-2.
from
Barrow Treasure, in Fact, Tradition, and Legislation
L. V. Grinsell
Folklore, Vol. 78, No. 1. (Spring, 1967), pp. 1-38.
More from Grinsell:
In a recent essay, Piggot [Piggott, Stuart, 1976. Ruins in a Landscape. p77-99] argues persuasively that this story, placed at ‘Colton’s Field’ within two miles of Cirencester, conforms to an International Popular Tale in vogue in the late 17th century, and that its location near Cirencester may have been provided to add plausibility to the story which was probably without factual basis.
Notes on the Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain
L. V. Grinsell
Folklore, Vol. 90, No. 1. (1979), pp. 66-70.
From the 2002 Proceedings – a 36 page essay on the axe ‘factory’ at Creag Na Cailleach. The stone is a hornfels – it was created where the schists were metamorphosised by a hot (very hot) igneous intrusion, and created this hard, fine-grained rock. Since the late 1980s various axes found in Scotland and the east side of England have begun to be (re)attributed to this location. The axes were probably ‘roughed out’ on site, and finished elsewhere; the article suggests the source was used over a few centuries, intermittently, and on a small scale – and that the economic and social significance of the mountain can only be guessed at as yet.
Cross-markings and Cup-Markings at Duncroisk, Glenlochay.
E A Cormack.
p169 in v84 (1949-50).
According to the New Statistical Account for Fortingal (1845, v10):
Caisteal coin a-bhacain- the Castle of the dog’s kennel.
This bacan, or stake to which the Fingalians tied their stag-hounds, and from which the castle is named, is a thin stone, about 2 and a half feet in height, resembling the letter q, with the small end set into the ground, up on a little green eminence.
It is known as Caisteal a’ Chonbhacain, from a remarkable stone in its vicinity, which was till recent times practically an idol.
-from ‘The Circular Forts of North Perthshire’ by W J Watson, in PSAS for 1912, p30.
ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_047/47_030_060.pdf
Perhaps that’s just a less coy version of BigSweetie’s quote below.
An interesting discovery has been made by Mr. F. C. Spencer, of Halifax, of a British barrow, in the township of Extwistle, near Burnley. Mr Spencer’s attention had been called by Mr. Jonas Lee, farmer, of Thursden, to a small circle of stones in a field called Delf-hill Pasture, at Hellclough-head [..]
The circle originally consisted of rock pillars (five of which remain), standing about eighteen inches above the surface, and being about two feet square. The diameter of the circle is about five yards.
Mr. Spencer directed an excavation to be made without delay, the result of which was the discovery of two very antique earthern urns, curiously marked, containing fragments of human bones, of small dimensions, mixed with charcoal and black mould. The tops of the vessels were covered with small flat slate-stones, but little larger than the urns, over which larger heavy stones were placed for their protection. The urns were found about two feet beneath the surface of the field, in the centre of the circle, embedded in soft clay, with many pieces of charcoal interspersed.
I guess this explains the dip in the middle of the circle. From ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ for July 1842, p413 (it can be read on Google Books).
An aerial photo of the monument, showing it surrounded by a scatter of natural stones. (As Moss hints in her forum post, it’s reminiscent of the Mother’s Jam near Avebury).
Mr Nash says this is the only known location of a cup-and-ring on a chambered monument in SW Wales. Prior to this, only cups have been found (seven monuments in the region are known to have rock art).
He calls it the largest of all the monuments in Wales, so it seems strange that more fieldnotes haven’t been left on TMA? Perhaps it is rather off the beaten track. The capstone is described as a huge 5m by 4.1m, and weighing more than 60 tonnes. It is adjacent to a rock outcrop and, to the north, ‘the southern extent of Mynydd Preseli is in full view’. 50m WSW is a recumbent standing stone, a not inconsiderable 2.1m long, and ‘possibly contemporary with the Garn Turne monument’ (SM97904 27307). A second stone is at SM97935 27298. The monument, standing stones, rock outcropping and a marsh area are all inter-visible.
He says the ‘cupule’ may have been based on a natural feature of the rock, but that it shows some working. The cup is 5cm in diameter, and the ring 14cm.
from:
Cup-and-ring petroglyph on the neolithic chambered burial monument of Garn Turne, Pembrokeshire, SW Wales.
George Nash
Rock Art Research 2006 v25, no.2, pp199-206.
The article has a photo of the monument and a closeup of the cup-and-ring.
A Middle Bronze Age spearhead found on the Fell of Barhullion.
This super (and much older) carved stone ball also came from the immediate area, namely Stellock, which is the site of cup and ring marked rocks.
This area is full of prehistoric finds and sites – you’d imagine the Fell of Barhullion itself to be of significance?
There has been a major research project on Kendrick’s Cave, and this talk explaining it will be by Jill Cook, the deputy keeper of prehistory and early Europe at the British Museum. She will also reinterpret the 19th century excavations by Thomas Kendrick.
Meanwhile, the ‘Sharing Treasures’ exhibition will open at Llandudno Museum, at which the mesolithic finds from the cave (including art and jewellery) have been reunited from various collections ‘for the first time in 100 years’.
Was the cave just a campsite or a place of more special significance?
Sounds all very interesting. The talk is at 7pm, in Llandudno Town Hall, on Tuesday 1st April. Entry is free but donations to the Museum are welcome.
newswales.co.uk/?section=Community&F=1&id=13599
More about the art on a horse’s jawbone found in the cave at
icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/03/19/is-jawbone-the-ancient-souvenir-ancestor-of-the-humble-snow-globe-91466-20643806/
- it’s thought to be 13,000 years old!
news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Older-than-the-pyramids-buried.3883464.jp
Local plumber David Barnes saw the circular markings in the low afternoon light on Sandwick Bay. Julie Gibson, the county archaeologist, suggests it could come from a chambered tomb.
No picture at the link though, sadly.
On the north side of the hill “there is a natural cave, called the Cateranes’ Hole, formed by a narrow fissure in the freestone rock, and descending towards the west to a very great depth, at an angle of about 15 degrees. ‘By this instructive name, we learn,’ observes Mr. Hedley, ‘that this cave has probably been, in former times, the hidden retreat of Cateranes, an old Scotch word, signifying ‘bands of robbers*‘
*or probably, heroic freedom fighters, depending on what side you’re on.
From ‘An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county of Northumberland’ by Eneas MacKenzie (1825).
There’s a picture by J C Ousby on Geograph:
geograph.org.uk/photo/78959
The ‘Magic’ map has a cairn cemetery marked at this point on the NE side of the hill (unfortunately it gives no more details as yet).
On the destruction of the remaining stones of the northerly inner circle:
.. in 1812 there were four [stones surrounding the cove], and it is only within the last two years that this number has been reduced. I saw the man who destroyed them. He was a labourer employed on Mr. Naldy’s farm, and it was by Mr. Naldy’s orders that they were broken to pieces. The reason was that they stood inconveniently to him in his husbandry arrangements; but this reason would press quite as strongly against the two cove-stones, for they stand in the midst of his hay-ricks, and may perhaps occasion some little inconvenience in the piling up or taking down the produce of the farm.
But beside the destruction of two uprights, the same person acknowledged to having broken to pieces one which had fallen; and another person in the village told me that two of the prostrate stones, besides the two uprights, had lately been broken to pieces, by tenants of Mr. Thring of Wilton, of whom Mr. Naldy was one. It was added that the tenant had received permission from the owner, but this may be a mistake. Such an unparalleled remain may be in little esteem with “the dull swain, Who treads on it daily, with his clouted shoon:” -- but something better may be expected where the proprietorship resides.
There is, however, no replacing them as the Rocking-stone was replaced; for they were broken to pieces, and the new wall on the Swinden road is composed of the fragments.
From a letter to the Gentleman’s Magazine, July 1829, by Joseph Hunter.
books.google.co.uk/books?id=-Xyjw0o11mcC&printsec=titlepage
- see page 7.
Fourstones is the name of the settlement at the foot of the hillfort. So I admit this is a slightly shoehorned in bit of folklore but it is Stone related.. and who knows where and what the original Four Stones really were? It’s easy to blame things on the Romans when you’re so close to Hadrian’s Wall.
The name of this place is said to have been derived “from its being bounded by four stones, supposed to have been formed to hold holy water.” But other accounts say that these stones were Roman altars, and that there is a story current in the neighbourhood, that one of them was called the “Fairy Stone,” because in the rebellion of 1715, the focus of this altar was formed into a square recess, with a cover, to receive the correspondence of the rebel chiefs, and that a little boy clad in green came in the twilight of very evening to carry away the letters left in it for Lord Derwentwater, and deposit his answers, which were “spirited” away in a similar manner by the agency of some of his friends.
From p868 of ‘History, Topography and Directory of Northumberland’ 1855. The page can be seen on Google Books here:
books.google.co.uk/books?id=8-kGAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA868
The book also mentions “Castle Hill” as an alternative name for this hillfort (the same name as that given to one of the Roman forts here) and how it “commands an extensive view of the North and South Tyne, and all the principal villages and buildings up both these rivers may be distinctly perceived.” It does seem to have a very strategic location.
On the North side, the OS map marks the ‘Giant’s Well’, which hints at some more local folklore.
2.4.08
Apparently: 1278.-- It appears to have been customary for the king of Scotland, the archbishop of York, the prior of Tynemouth, the bishop of Durham, and Gilbert de Umfreville (by their bailiffs), to meet the justices coming to Newcastle, to hold pleas, and ask their liberties of them [..] at “Fourstanes,” when they came from Cumberland.
From ‘Local Records; or, historical register of remarkable events’ by John Sikes, v1, p29 (1833).
books.google.co.uk/books?id=MkkuAAAAMAAJ on Google Books.
At Holywell, or St. Cuthbert’s well, in Cubert [..] there is a well, or spring of fresh water, in a cavern on the sea shore. Thither on Holy Thursday children from the neighbourhood are carried, passed through a narrow fissure in the rock, and then immersed in a well, or font, excavated just beneath. This ceremony is traditionally said to be for the benefit of the child in soul and body.
Included for its stoney connection, from p241 of ‘The cross and the serpent’ by William Haslem (1849), which is readable on Google Books:
In the grounds of Robert Scott, esq. there is a strong and perfect Danish encampment in the form of a rude horse-shoe. In its circular part it is fortified by a double vallum; the front towards the Thames is defended by the high cliff.
A few years since some warlike instruments were found in making a walk round the rampart; but I have not had an opportunity of seeing them.
The place has been called by the country [people] the Danes Ditches, and has given the name of Danesfield to an elegant residence of Mr. Scott, who has improved the house and grounds with great taste.
From p835 of ‘The History and Antiquities of the Hundred of Desborough’, by Thomas Langley, 1797 (which can now be read on Google Books).
There are twenty duns, or ancient forts, in Tiree, it is said, but I have only seen eight, and examined two [..]. These duns, in the popular imagination, are all connected with Ossian’s heroes, and I have had some difficulty in convincing the people that I am not in search of gold. There is a rhyme which says that Fionn left his gold in Dun Shiatar, which is situated near Hynish.
From ‘Notes on the Antiquities of Tiree’ by J Sands, in PSAS 16 (1881-82) p459-63.
ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_016/16_459_463.pdf
On the islands of Colonsay and Oransay there are the remains of many buildings on hill tops, called duns. They are green and covered with grass.
The most impressive of these is Dun Aving or Abhing [..], about one mile west of Scalasaig harbour, and on a commanding hill top. It is circular, and measures about 90 feet diameter. But the outer face of the structure is gone. From it an almost unbroken view of the sea can be had all round the island. Many hundred tons of debris lie at the bottom of the rock on which the fort stands. The site, though not one of the highest hills, is well chosen for defence, and would be almost inaccessible except on one side where the entrance to the fort seems to have been.
From an article by William Stevenson in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 15 (1880-81), p113-47.
ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_015/15_113_147.pdf
It seems the name of this promontory fort might come from the mythical Aine. The stone mentioned below couldn’t (can’t?) be far away – surely someone knows more about it.
.. a great stone called “the chair of Aine, or the chair of the lunatics,” was located, possibly still is, near Dunany; and the people generally believed that lunatics, actuated by some insuperable impulse, if at liberty, usually made their way to this stone, and seated themselves thrice upon it; and it was generally believed that after having performed that ceremony they became incurable. It was also considered a very dangerous act for persons of sane minds to sit upon this stone, lest they too might become subject to the power of Aine, that is, become affected with lunacy.
The human race were not the only beings supposed to have been affected by the mischievous Aine, since rabid dogs even were said to have come from many parts of the country and flocked around this stone, to the great danger of the neighbours and their cattle: when they remained around the lunatics’ chair for some time, they then retired into the sea, as if compelled by some potent invisible power, and the people supposed that they were forced to visit the submarine dominions of Aine, since they were entirely under her subjection.
Aine is said to be connected with the moon, which seems apt if she has a chair for ‘lunatics’ and has connections with the sea.
Quote from an article on Folklore by Mr. Nicholas O’Kearney, in ‘Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society’ vII (1852-53), on p35. (you can see it on Google Books).
About the beginning of the last century, a hillock on the side of the hill, containing about an acre, with its trees and cattle, slipped nearly 100 yards down.
See Laird’s “Topographical and Historical Description of Worcestershire” p364.
There have been lots of landslips here, fair enough. But surely “with its trees and cattle” conjures up some great images and the start of some tall tales.
... a quotation from Nichols’s “Leicestershire” that [says..] ” near the same place is a stone, which confirms the generally-received opinion of naturalists concerning the growth of these bodies; for, notwithstanding great pains have been taken by a late proprietor of the land to keep it below the surface, it defeats his efforts, and rises gradually..”
Nichols published his books 1795-1812, but this is a quote I found on p372 in ‘On the ancient British, Roman, and Saxon antiquities of Worcestershire’ by J Allies (1852), on Google Books.
This short north-west facing piece of land has a nice bit of folklore to go with it. Robert the Bruce was watching this shore from Arran, waiting for the signal that told him it was a good moment to return to the mainland and oust the English. Unfortunately it was all a bit of a mistake and he ended up retreating to the mountains (though he did take the castle at Turnberry later).
It is still generally reported, and religiously believed by many, that this [beacon] fire was really the work of a supernatural power, unassisted by the hand of any mortal being; and it is said, that for several centuries the flame rose yearly at the same hour, of the same night of the year, on which the king first saw it from the turrets of Brodick Castle, while some go even so far as to say, that if the exact time were known, the fire would still be seen. That this superstition is very ancient, is evident from the place where the fire is said to have appeared being called Bogle’s Brae (the ghost’s hill side,) beyond the remembrance of man. In support of this curious belief, it is said that the practice of burning heath for the improvement of land was then unknown, a spunkie (jack o’lantern) could not have been seen across the Firth of Clyde between Ayrshire and Arran, and that the messenger was Bruce’s kinsman, and never suspected of treachery.
All very confusing. From a note to Scott’s “Lord of the Isles” (canto 5), 1815.
This dolerite stone, 1.7m tall, was recorded as the ‘Stinnin Stane’ in 1895. According to the RCAHMS record it “occupies a prominent position on top of a small hill.”
Mr Charles Long communicated a Notice of the investigation of a British tumulus in Berkshire, directed by Mr Henry Long and himself some years since, and he produced a portion of a diminutive vase, found with the interent, and of the class termed by Sir Richard C Hoare, “incense cups.”
.. The barrow was situated near Stanmore Farm, at Beedon.. The common people gave the name of Borough, or Burrow, Hill to it, and they had a vague tradition of a man called Burrow who was there interred in a coffin of precious metal..
.. It was with considerable difficulty that Mr Long could prevail upon the tenant-farmer to give consent; his wife, moreover, had dreamed of treasure concealed on the east side, “near a white spot.” The promise, that all valuables discovered should be rendered up to them, at length secured their permission.
p67 in ‘The Archaeological Journal’ v7, 1850.
books.google.co.uk/books?id=UTQGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA66
A British fortress on Barra-hill in Aberdeenshire.. deserves notice. It is built in an elliptical form; and the ramparts were partly composed of stones, having a large ditch that occupies the summit of the hill, which as it is about two hundred feet above the vale, overlooks the low ground between it and the mountain of Benachie. It was surrounded by three lines of circumvallation. Facing the west the hill rises very steeply; and the middle line is interrupted by rocks; while the only access to the fort is on the eastern side where the ascent is easy; and at this part the entry to the fort is perfectly obvious.
This Caledonian hill-fort is now called by the tradition of the country, Cummin’s Camp, from the defeat which the Earl of Buchan there sustained, when attacked by the gallant Bruce.
From ‘A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans’ by James Browne v1 (1849) – which you may read on Google Books.
This might not be the right site. If it’s not the right site, then I think it must have been pretty close by (there are pits everywhere and perhaps it got swallowed up).
“In a field,” says Surtees, “on the right-hand side of the road from Eppleton to Hetton, and only one field from Houghton-lane, is a remarkable tumulus, consisting entirely of field-stones gathered together. At the top there is a small oblong hollow, called the Fairies’ Cradle: on this little green mound, which has always been sacred from the plough, village-superstition believes the fairies to have led their moonlight circles, and whistled their roundelays to the wind.
The subterraneous palaces of the fairy sovereign are frequently supposed, both in England and Scotland, to exist under these regular green hillocks:‘Up spoke the moody fairy king,
Who wons beneath the hill;
Like wind in the porch of a ruin’d church,
His voice was loud and shrill.‘But the Hetton fairies, of whom, however, there is no living evidence, spoke in a voice remarkably small and exile.”
Quoted on p369 of ‘An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County Palatine of Durham’ (1834).
I don’t know if this has any bearing on the matter at all. But it’s interesting that Paulus says the stone was once “at the edge of an old stream”.
Hipping-Stones
Large stepping-stones in a brook. When passable by means of such stones, the water is said to be ‘hippinable’.
But then again, the next entry is:
Hippins
Children’s clothes; clouts. (North).
So stones for hopping across or doing your washing on, perhaps?
From the Dictionary of obsolete and provincial English, by Thomas Wright (1857) – which can be viewed on Google Books.
Alfred Watkins thought Bache Hill was on a ley going through the Four Stones:
The second ley [through the stones] starts from Bach Hill (one of the highest parts of the Radnor Forest); through the Four Stones, dead on main road through Walton village, dead on main road past Eccles Green, through Upperton Farm and Kenchester Church, and dead on the present road which is the S.W. boundary of the Roman station of Magna; then going over the Wye through Breinton Church.
In ‘Early British Trackways’, which can be read at the Sacred Texts Archive.
see
sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/ebt/ebt14.htm
It would be interesting to see what Morfe’s link below (to ‘Megalithic Mid-Wales’) said about the alignment – but the website seems to have gone.
This relates to many of the monuments in the area:
There are evident marks of a battle’s being fought in this parish. It is said to have been between the people of Inverness and the McDonalds, and to have happened in the 13th or 14th century. The plain on which this battle was fought, is to this day called Blair-na-coi; a name given it from this particular circumstance, that as one of the contending parties was giving way and flying, a tenant and his son who were ploughing on that field, had taken off the yokes with which the oxen were fastened together, rallied the routed troops, and with them recommenced the action and carried the day.
It would appear the battle was bloody, and desperately fought, from the vast number of cairns of stones that are still to be seen there, covering the dead. These the people still hold so sacred, that though the place was in tillage when the battle was fought, the marks of the ridges being still visible there, and though a great deal of the adjoining moor is now cultivated, not one of these cairns has ever een touched.
Another circumstance that strengthens this opinion is, that the heights and adjacent places go by the name of Druim-na-deor, “the height or the Hill of Tears.” To the E. of where the battle was fought, are to be seen the remains of a Druidical temple, called James’s Temple; and to the W. of the filed of battle, are to be seen the traces of a camp, and a similar one to it on the S. on the hill of Kessock, the highest hill in this parish, where there is also a pretty large cairn of stones, called Cairn-glas.
..
From the Statistical Account, v12, 1794.