the shadows clearly show the extent of the mound
Image credit: Andy Sweet
BigSweetie
From “A Short History of York” by Marguerita Spence and Marian E Everatt (1948):
“....the corner of Burton Stone Lane, where stood the hapel of St. Mary Magdalene. Here travellers prayed for safe guidance through the Forest of Galtres.”
From “York” by John Harvey (1983):
“Soon after this is the corner of Burton Stone Lane, with the historic – or prehistoric – Burton Stone marking the limit of the old jurisdiction of the city on this side of the road.”
From “This Is York” by CB Knight (1954):
“At the far corner of Burton Stone Lane, in front of the Burton Stone Inn, is a stone enclosed in iron railings. This is the Burton Stone, which gives its name to the lane. It recalls the fact that in 1604 there was a violent outbreak of plague in the city, and 3,512 persons are said to have died of it...........Stone crosses were erected on all the main high roads approaching the city at the city boundaries, around which the country people exposed their provisions for sale without entering the city. The Burton Stone was the base of one of these crosses, and remains as a reminder of a very sorrowful time in York’s chequered history. I have not been able to trace what the name Burton signifies. Several members of a family of this name were very active in local affairs at the close of the seventeenth century, and may have resided near by.”
the Burton Stone drawn by Alfred Gill, taken from “This Is York” by CB Knight, 1954
Image credit: Alfred Gill
the stone in front of the old Burton Stone Inn. taken from “The Archive Photographs Series – York” compiled by Amanda Howard, 1995
Image credit: unknown
CANMORE lists this stone as a cross, and it’s marked on the current OS map as a cross slab, but it was marked on the 1961 OS map as a standing stone, and visiting it seems to confirm that, it definitely looks like a christianised standing stone. So after a few second opinions I’ve added it here.
The stone is a large slab, 2.0m in height by 0.6m wide and 0.2m thick, giving it similar proportions to the nearby Clach Glas. On either side is carved a large simple cross.
Writing in 1925, JH Dixon described how it was supposed to have been connected with a chapel of St Maroc on the terrace above the Tay’s flood plain, although no trace of such a building can now be found.
Directions – Head north from Perth on the A9. Turn off at Kindallachan and park here. Walk north out of Kindallachan, taking the path that follows the A9. When you see the first cottage on the opposte side of the A9 (Haugh of Kilmorich) cross the road and head down the track that goes under the railway bridge towards the river. Turn right along the bottom of the field, and then right again up the other side of the field. The stone stands in the corner of the next field, near the railway embankment.
The Clach Glas is not too far from the embankment for the railway on the flood plain of the Tay. It is around 1.7m tall by 1.0m wide, and is approximately 30cm thick, making it slab-like in appearance. It stands on a small but pronounced mound in which packing material is visible, and there was said to have once been more stones lying on the ground to the south and east, although these are no longer there. In the centre of the south face of the stone are two cup marks.
Directions – Head W from Perth on the A9. Just after Auchterarder, come off onto the A823, turning right for Crieff. Immediately on your left is a gate giving access to the fort. There’s space to park here.
The stepped terracing of this fort is clearly visible at the southern end, and standing on the top of the fort reveals the full extent of the fort’s area, stretching to the north. The fort appears to be split into two sections by two massive ditches running E-W through the fort’s interior, which may be evidence of an entrance.
showing the V of Glen Eagles and Glen Devon behind
Image credit: Andy Sweet
