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A man was supposed to have been chased by the Devil across this Iron Age hillfort. I've also read about the Diana one mentioned below.
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Like many others, these round barrows are said to contain hidden treasure.
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The pool in this earthwork is one of the places here King Arthur ‘s sword Excalibur is said to have been thrown (cf Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor). Ghostly galloping hooves and wailing voices are rumoured at Trent barrow, following an incident when a coach and horses with all the passengers aboard drove into the pool. This site is only a few miles from South Cadbury Castle which is often believed to be the site of Camelot.
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The Anchoret’s Well inside this Iron Age hillfort was said to contain a golden table or tablet. On 21st September (i.e. the Autumnal Equinox) each year the local people used to come to the well and drink its water which was believed to have healing powers.
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Legend has it that the hill was built by the giant Cormoran and his wife. They were using white rock which had to be carried some distance, so Cormoran’s wife tried to cheat by bringing local greenstone in her apron instead. Cormoran kicked her when he found out, her apron string broke, and she dropped the stone. Far be it for me to pour scorn on folklore, but it seems a pretty mixed up case of folklore, and all a bit male centric!
In 495 AD some fishermen had a vision of St.Michael over the summit of the mount. Thereafter it became a Christian settlement. St.Keyne came on a pilgrimage there and left her influence on a rough stone seat known as St.Keyne’s Chair. Whichever one a newly married couple first sits on the chair, he or she will dominate the marriage.
John Michell believes the Mount marks one end of a very long distance alignment which he called ‘the ‘St.Michael Line’, and which includes the Hurlers Stone Circles on Bodmin Moor and Brent Tor church on Dartmoor.
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Jan Tregeagle was reputed to be an evil lawyer who sold his soul to the Devil, as a result of which his ghost was given endless tasks by clergymen in an attempt to save it. one of these tasks was to empty Dozmary Pool (said to be bottomless) with a leaky limpet shell.
This atmospheric pool is also one of many places where Sir Bedivere is reputed to have throw away the sword Excalibur at King Arthur’s command as he lay dying, with a hand emerging from the water to grasp the weapon.
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According to tradition it was formed from a shovel full of earth thrown down by the Devil when he was digging out Cheddar Gorge. In Arthurian legend it was the Mount of Frogs, and three giants lived there. The knight Ider, who had the task of challenging them, galloped off and killed all three without waiting for Arthur and the knights who were going to help him.
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As Rhiannon says this tree-covered barrow marks the breast of the Virgo figure in the ‘Glastonbury Zodiac’. Virgo is the fertile Earth Mother, and Wheathill lies at her feet. Her profile and front are outlined by the River Cary, and she is lying on her back, her head pointing west. Barrows are often breast-shaped, and ‘toot’ is a apparently a variant of ‘teat’. Wimble Toot certainly resembles a breast lying on the fertile farmland.
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The 13 foot stone is a probable remnant of a Neolithic long barrow. legend has it that the stone was thrown here by a giant, the smaller stone being thrown by the Devil. Alternatively the Devil dropped some stones from his overloaded cart. There was also a belief that Druids used to meet at this stone.
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According to Paul Devereux and Ian Thomson’s ‘Ley Guide’, Winchester lies on an 11 mile ley from Tidbury Ring to a barrow beyond St.Catherine’s Hill. There was an Iron Age hillfort on this hill and in the 12th Century a small chapel dedicated to St.Catherine was built, of which slight traces remain. The Castle Hall in nearby Winchester has lots of Arthurian legends attached to it, which I’m afraid to say do bore me.
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In the 2nd century BC it may have been a tribal centre, and a tradition grew up that it was intended to be the original site of Winchester, but the building materials brought here were mysteriously transported 10 miles to the north-west, where Winchester was finally built.
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A golden coffin is said to be buried here.
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Said to have been erected by a giant (hence the local name of the ‘Giant’s Quoit’) and also to be immovable. if the stones of the quoit are taken away they will come back by themselves. The area of Zennor also has the almost obligatory Arthurian tradition. When this stretch of coast was invaded by the Danes, the King and his men defeated the invaders at Vellan, west of Pendeen.
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Said to be the home of a giant who was killed when the giant of Launceston Castle threw a tool at him. In the centre of the fort there is a long mound, 22 m long, 10m high and 6m high, flanked by indistinct ditches in the manner of a Neolithic Long Barrow. This is variously known as ‘Arthur’s Grave’, ‘King Arthur’s Tomb, and ‘The Giant’s Grave’ but there is no evidence to link King Arthur with the site and there are lots of Arthur’s Graves in Britain. Experts say it is more likely to be a medieval rabbit warren.
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The stones are said to move round slowly at sunrise so that each face is warmed by the sun in turn. A similar story exists for the Longstone at Shovel Down.
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The longstone is said to move round slowly at sunrise so that each face is warmed by the sun in turn. A similar story exists for the stones of the GreyWethers stone circle.
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As with many other old stones in Cornwall, there was a belief that gold lay buried beneath it. A story says that some time ago a man who had a recurring dream of a crock of gold, dug a pit around the base of the stone. He found nothing but the stone collapsed and has only been re-erected in recent times.
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A third theory (see below for the other two) could be formed from a tradition heard by J.O. Halliwell and repeated in his book ‘Rambles In Western Cornwall’. This held that the bank was formerly higher, with its inner slope fashioned into rows of rough seating, similar to the medieval ‘Plen-an-gwarys’ [medieval ampitheatre]. If this was not the result of a later re-use of the site, the possibility exists that Bartinne was a sacred enclosure; indeed, legend tells us that no evil spirit can enter it. Fires were lit during the worship of the Celtic sun-god Belenos and it is worth noting that the name Bartinne has been interpreted as deriving from the Cornish ‘bre tanow’ -hill of fires.
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Local folklore says that there is a rift in the earth at the camp where the dead from a battle were thrown into.
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The stones are just off the Bannerdown road (‘Holy Hill’), where tradition has it that St.Augustine met the British Bishops. This road is part of the Fosseway Roman road.
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My real name is Martin, but there is already a Martin vigorously posting on this fantastic web site so I decided to use 'Pure Joy'; which was the title of the Teardrop Explodes and Julian Cope fanzine that I set up in 1988 and ran until 1991/2. Strangely my interest in ancient sites pre-dates the knowledge that Julian was also into them. However Julian's book has certainly led me to visit more, and plan holidays and pit-stops around places to visit! Studying History (and International Relations) at Uni and coming from the West Country led to a healthy fascination with ancient sites and the countryside.
I was born in 1970 in Colerne, a historic village between Bath and Chippenham (mentioned in the Domesday Book) and have spent time in Bath, Reading, Manchester, West Africa, and Ethiopia. I'm currently living near London, but itching to live in the countryside, preferably Cornwall, or Africa. Reality check! little money and inertia creep.
Most of my working life has been in the voluntary sector, usually by supporting voluntary and community groups with advice and information. I enjoy doing quite a bit of voluntary work with our Credit Union, and as an elected Council member of the National Trust.
I'm no photography expert but I like to take photos (nearly always black and white) of places I visit. Some of the earlier ones looked good but it was only with a £25 point and shoot camera that was amazing unreliable. I've now got an old Pentax SLR, but at the moment I refuse to use filters and special effects. You get what you see.
Up side of ancient site = the sense of history, the countryside, the walk, the sense of adventure, the tranquillity, and the weird things that sometimes happen.
Downside = the loneliness, territorial cows, and the cravings to get back to the countryside
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