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.
A golden coffin is said to be buried here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Local folklore says that there is a rift in the earth at the camp where the dead from a battle were thrown into.
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.
Said to ensure fertility, particularly to newly married couples, but only after they have squeezed their naked bodies through the hole.
In chamber 3 you will see the Witch of Wookey who, according to legend, was turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury Abbey.
‘Ancient Places’ by Prof Glyn Daniel and Dr Paul Bahn (1987, Constable and Company) mentions a folklore tale that says infertile women can be cured by touching the stones with their bare breasts. In the Eighteenth Century the local young people used to meet near the King Stone on Midsummer’s Eve for dancing and feasting.