England (north)

Cowcliffe Cross, Fartown, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

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Cross: OS Grid Reference – SE 13949 18935

Getting Here

Nice ‘n easy: from Huddersfield central, take the A641 road north to Brighouse, but barely a half-mile out of town turn left up the Halifax Old Road. Go on here for nearly a mile, then keep your eyes peeled for the aptly-named South Cross Road on your right. Go up here all the way to the end where it meets with Cowcliffe Hill Road. Here, at the junction, right by the roadside at the edge of the wall, is the remains of the old cross-base, all but covered in vegetation. You’ll see it.

Archaeology & History

The little-known remains of a post-medieval cross base can still be seen, albeit very overgrown, right by the roadside. The upstanding stone cross that once stood upon it has long since gone (perhaps broken up and built into the wall). It may have been one of two such crosses relatively close to each other: as this one is found at South Cross Road, there may have been another one at the nearby North Cross Road, but history seems to be silent on the matter.

The cross-base itself has several holes cut into it where the standing stone cross was fixed upright. Very little seems to be known about this monument. George Redmonds (2008) told simply that, “the base of a cross survives on Cowcliffe Hill Road, no doubt marking the ancient crossroads. It explains the names North and South Cross Roads.” He added that, “The base of the cross survives, partly hidden in the undergrowth, and it is the only visible evidence we have of several similar crosses in the township.”

References:

Redmonds, George, Place-Names of Huddersfield, GR Books: Huddersfield 2008.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks to Liz Sykes for helping out big-time to uncover the base from beneath the mass of herbage.

Footsteps Stone, Ilkley, West Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 10382 47027

Also Known as:

Carving no.61 (Hedges 1986)
Carving no.233 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Take the Wells Road from Ilkley centre up towards White Wells, bending to the right as you hit the edge of the moor. Keep along the road, past the old college building with its lake and turn right up Westwood Drive. Keep going all the way up (it becomes Panorama Drive) till you hit the small woodland on your right. Where the woodland ends – stop! Walk into the trees about 10-15 yards and you’ll see the large rocks ahead of you. Brush back the vegetation and you’ll find it.

Archaeology & History

This large flat rock surface has a scattering of archetypal deep cup-markings, with other fainter marks scattered over most of its surface. It sits right next to carving no.232, with its own equally large, naturally worn basins.

It was visited in the 1870s (along with the other Panorama Stones) and subsequently illustrated in the personal sketch-pad of Mr Thorton Dale (we’re hoping to have them scanned in due course for open Creative Commons use) who showed the basic cup-marks and shaped “lines” or footsteps that give this petroglyph its name. Little more was said of it until Hedges (1986) described it in his survey, whose notes were subsequently repeated in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) work as being a “medium-sized flat-topped, upstanding rectangular rock. Eight cups, six deep ovals, faint circles and lines on SW end.” One of the most notable cup-and-rings can just be made out near the middle of the stone, on the left-side of one the footprints.

The depth of these incisions in this design strongly suggests that the carving was worked and reworked over many centuries, suggesting utilitarian usage of some kind, be it ceremonial or otherwise. It’s also very unusual inasmuch as elongated footstep-like cuttings are scarcities, not just in Yorkshire petroglyphs, but in prehistoric carvings across Britain. Check it out when you’re next walking up to the Swastika Stone.

References:

Bennett, Paul, The Panorama Stones, Ilkley, TNA: Yorkshire 2012.
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

Addingham Crag (02), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 07905 47268

Getting Here

For those who like a walk: take the route to reach the Swastika Stone and keep walking west along the Millenium Way footpath, past the Piper’s Stone carving and over the next two walls. Then, stagger down the steep hill and head for the large upright near-cuboid block of stone and, once here, walk 30 yards to your east! Alternatively, from the Silsden-side, go along Brown Bank Lane up and past Brown Bank caravan park, and at the second crossroads turn right and travel for exactly 1¼ miles (2km) along Straight Lane (from hereon there’s nowhere to park!) which runs naturally into Moorside Lane, and notice the raised gate entrance into the field on your right. Walk to the top of this field, go through the next gate and, less than 100 yards uphill (south) you’ll find the stone in question.

Archaeology & History

Rediscovered by Paul Bowers in 2011, this is another one of those petroglyphs that’s difficult to make out unless the light is falling just right across the surface of the stone. Two distinct cup-marks can be seen near the more southern-edge of the stone, one of which has a near-complete, albeit unfinished ring around it, and from this a seemingly carved line runs roughly parallel with the edge of the stone, down towards another equally distinct cup close to the southwestern edge of the rock. Most of the stone is nicely covered in a decent lichen cover, so the design’s a bit difficult to see when the light’s not right. But, if you’ve made it this far, the petroglyph 30 yards to the west will make up for any disappointment you may have!

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

Piper’s Crag (4), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 08675 47067

Getting Here

Get up to the Swastika Stone, then head west along the footpath towards the Piper Stone. Shortly before there, you’ll see the small cup-marked Piper’s Crag (3) carving, just by the walling. From this carving, just step a few yards down the slope and on the smooth sloping rock face is this faded carving. You’ll see it.

Archaeology & History

A larger than normal single cup-mark near the bottom slope of this rock has an incomplete ring around its east and southern edges, possibly with another broken element of it on its northern edge. It’s difficult to work out whether or not this is one of Nature’s curious markings and so needs looking at in different lights to work it out, one way or the other. It’s included in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2018) updated rock art survey, but there are a number quite natural cup-marks in that tome, so we need to exercise a little bit of caution here. However, it does seem to have a greater degree of authenticity than some of the other dubious single cup-marked stones in their book. Check it out on your way to the Piper’s Stone.

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

Piper’s Crag (3), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 08673 47062

Getting Here

Heading up from Ilkley, follow the directions to reach the Swastika Stone, then keep walking (west) along the footpath to the small clump of trees, and keep walking past them too and keep going along the same path as if you’re heading toward the Piper’s Stone. About 200 yards before reaching it, just where the gate and boundary stone is in the old walling, there’s a small line of crags to the right of your feet and there, at the edge of the path, is the stone in question. You’ll see it (unless it’s a cloudy gray day, in which case you might struggle).

Archaeology & History

This is one of a number of cup-marked stones that you’ll find scattering this part of the moor, almost all of which are Nature’s handiwork (a few of these natural carvings have somehow found their way into Keith Boughey’s [2018] updated West Riding rock art book). I’m not 110% certain that this doesn’t have Nature’s name on it either, but it’s got a greater degree of probability to it than some of the others. It’s a simple little thing, as y’ can see, consisting of just the two cup-marks, smaller than usual, living next to each other. If it’s the real deal, we can surmise that it may have been carved by a young person back-in-the-days. In the walling just above this stone you can see the medieval boundary stone, which might—just might—have a prehistoric pedigree to it….

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

Devil’s Stone, Addlebrough, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire

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Legendary Rock: OS Grid Reference – SD 94355 87997

Also Known as:

Giant’s Stone

Getting Here

From the small town of Bainbridge, head south down the Carpley Green Road. Less than a mile before the end, look to the west-facing slope of Addlebrough Hill and this huge Devil’s Stone can be seen resting halfway up the slope, just by the wall. Y’ can’t miss it!

Archaeology & History

Highlighted on the 1856 Ordnance Survey map, one of the legends of this place suggested there might be cup-and-ring markings on the stone, but the curious markings on top of the rock seem to be natural. It’s a superb stone though, dropped here no doubt by some great glacier as it retreated north, in ages truly olde…

There’s a lot of archaeology around here that’s yet to receive the attention of the archaeology textbooks. But if you’ve ventured to see this, have a gander across to the massive prehistoric tomb known as Stony Raise, less than a mile southeast of here.

Folklore

One legend tells that long ago Addlebrough was the home of a great unnamed giant — but a friendly giant by all acounts. However, one day the devil turned up and wanted possession of the giant’s hill and so a fierce row broke out between them. Perched on the top of the crag — which is the rough ridge to the west of here — the giant who lived there hurled huge boulders down at the devil, but they fell short and landed at the side of Lake Semerwater (itself an important spot in local prehistory). In return, Old Nick himself began throwing boulders back — and one of those which the devil threw landed here, halfway up the western flank of Addlebrough Hill (a couple of the large boulders which the giant threw can be seen on the edge of Semerwater and are known as the Carlow and Mermaid stones). Hence it’s name of the Devil’s Stone!

In Edmund Bogg’s Richmondshire (1908), he told how, “the curious markings on (the Devil’s Stone) are accounted due to the pressure of the devil’s fingers” which were caused when he threw this giant stone from somewhere to here.

This is a theme we find at countless other stone sites, i.e. the Devil burning holes into rock — and in some cases these devil’s “fingerprints” have turned out to be prehistoric cup-markings. Such tales relate to the pre-christian Creation Myth of a place and would, before the “devil” was supplanted onto a site, have had wider significance in the landscape as a whole, in a manner known only to local people. Devils usually replaced legendary giants, or the hero-figures who created the land in primordial times in the myths of our ancestors. A greater examination of the nearby sites in association with the folklore of the region would no doubt be quite profitable…

References:

Bogg, Edmund, Richmondshire, James Miles: Leeds 1908.
Romney, Paul (ed.), The Diary of Charles Fothergill, 1805, Yorkshire Archaeological Society: Leeds 1984.

Almscliffe Crag carving, North Rigton, North Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 26777 48952

Also Known as:

Ormscliffe Crags

Getting Here

This is an outstanding site visible for miles around in just about every direction – so getting here is easy! If you’re coming from Harrogate, south down the A658, turn right and go thru North Rigton. Ask a local. If you’re coming north up the A658 from the Leeds or Bradford area, do exactly the same! (either way, you’ll see the crags rising up from some distance away) As you walk to the main crags, instead of going to the huge central mass, you need to follow the line of walling down (south) to the extended cluster of much lower sloping rocks. Look around and you’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

On the evening of May 27, 2024, I received a phone call from a Mr James Elkington of Otley. He was up Almscliffe Crags and the wind was howling away in the background, taking his words away half the time, breaking the sentences into piecemeal fragments. But through it all came a simple clarity: as the sun was setting and the low light cut across the rocky surface, a previously unrecorded cup-and-ring design emerged from the stone and was brought to the attention of he and his compatriot Mackenzie Erichs. All previous explorations for rock art here over the last 150 years had proved fruitless—until now!

On the east-facing slope of the stone, just below the curvaceous wind-and-rain hewn shapes at the very top of the boulder, is a singular archetypal cup-and-ring. It’s faint, as the photos show, but it’s definitely there. What might be another cup-and-ring is visible slightly higher up the sloping face, but the site needs looking at again when lighting conditions are just right! (you can just about make it out in one of the photos) But, at long last, this giant legend-infested mass of Almscliffe has its prehistoric animistic fingerprint, bearing fruit and giving watch to the countless heathen activities going back centuries. Rombald’s wife Herself might have been the mythic artist of this very carving! (if you want to read about the many legends attached to the major Almscliffe rock outcrop, check out the main entry for Almscliffe Crags)

References:

Bennett, Paul, “Almscliffe Crags, North Rigton,” Northern Antiquarian 2010.

Salt Well, Allington, Lincolnshire

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Holy Well: Ordnance Grid Reference – SK 85662 39798

Getting Here

Nice ‘n easy: take the Sedgebrook Road south out of Allington village and, after a few hundred yards, just as you go past Peach Lane, keep your eyes peeled and look into the shrubs that are set back a few yards on the left-hand side of the road. Just there you’ll see a small circular stone structure with a small plague in front of it. That’s the Salt Well.

Archaeology & History

Highlighted on the early Ordnance Survey maps of the area, this chalybeate spring was known as both the Salt Well and Holy Well. Mentioned in Ian Thompson’s (1999) work, the waters here arise in a three-foot high pillbox-shaped structure, set into the grass verge just off the roadside between Allington and Sedgebrook. On the early OS-maps it is shown to have originally been on the opposite side of the road. The earliest reference to the well is from 1226 CE and, thereafter, a number of 16th Century wills are recorded making bequests for the maintenance of the well suggesting its considerable importance in bygone centuries—perhaps because it was the only local well that did not dry-up, no matter how severe the drought.

The small plaque at the side of the well states, “This spring has been a water source since the 13th Century and now remains a village landmark.” An analysis of the waters here in 1990 revealed very low levels of iron but noted a high concentration of sodium sulphate.

References:

Thompson, Ian, Lincolnshire Springs and Well, Bluestone: Scunthorpe 1999.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Sunnybank Well, Hawksworth, West Yorkshire

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Healing Well: OS Grid Reference – SE 16228 40696

Getting Here

My walk up to this place took me off the main A6038 Hollins Hill road, across from the petrol station and up the scruffy disused road to the hamlet of Tong Park, bending round the houses to the right when they appear. Keep along this old track, then veer right, down the slope and along the footpath and into the trees under the railway arches, keeping on until you reach the lake on your left. At the end of the lake, cross the bridge and follow the footpath as it bends to the left and into the trees. You’ll go over a stile and then about 50 yards along, the stream that crosses the path emerges from a crack in the rocks on your right. You’re here!

Archaeology & History

All history and tradition of this site seems long gone. It was shown on the 1852 Ordnance Survey map of the region and doubtless receives its name from the location, as the spring of water emerges from beneath the sloping embankment which is a bit of a sun-trap in Spring and Summer. It makes sense. Although I can find no reference to any medicinal attributes, the waters of Sunnybank Well are cold, fresh and drinkable.

References:

Shepherd, Val, Historic Wells in and Around Bradford, HOAP: Wymeswold 1994.

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

High Sleets, Hawkswick, North Yorkshire

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Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – SD 95415 69019

Getting Here

Going along the B6160 road from Grassington to Kettlewell and taking the little road to Arncliffe on your left just a few hundred yards past Kilnsey Crags, after ¾ of a mile keep your eyes peeled for the small parking spot on the left-side of the road, with the steep rocky stream that leads up to the Sleet Gill Cave. Walk up this steep slope, following the same directions to reach the Sleets Gill Top enclosure. From here you’ll notice a large gap in the rocky crags about 200 yards WSW that you can walk through. On the other side of this gap, along a small footpath about another 200 yards along you’ll reach a large ovoid rock. Just before this, on your right, is a long rocky rise with distinct drystone walling below it. That’s the spot!

Archaeology & History

Encircling a slightly sloping area of ground that stretches out beneath a long line of limestone crags is this notable walled enclosure running almost the full length of the rocky ridge. Measuring 40 yards (36m) in length by 10 yards (9m) across at its greatest width, this elongated rectangular enclosure has all attributes of being Iron Age in origin, much like many others in this area. However, in comparison with the others close by, this is a pretty small construction and—if used for human habitation, as is likely—would have housed only two or three families.

Within the enclosure itself, near its western end, we find an internal line of walling that creates a single room: enough for a single family, or perhaps even where animals were kept. Only an excavation would tell us for sure.

One notable interesting feature exists roughly halfway along the enclosure, up against the crag itself: here is small man-made stone “cupboard” of sorts, akin to some modern pantry. You’ll get an idea of it in the photo. At first I wondered if this would have been a sleeping space, but, unless it was where a shaman liked to encase him/herself inside a domestic household cave (highly improbable), it would have served a simple pragmatic function. Make up your own mind.

I liked this place. It’s surrounded by crags on almost all sides with some ancient spirit-infested rocky hills very close by, giving it a beautiful ambience. Immediately below the enclosure is what looks to be a large dried-up pool, which was probably well stocked with fish. A perfect living environment. Check it out!

References:

Raistrick, Arthur, Prehistoric Yorkshire, Dalesman: Clapham 1964.