Yorkshire, West

Silver Well, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

11/10/202612/10/2026 megalithix

Sacred Well (covered): OS Grid Reference – SE 10425 46701

Archaeology & History

Highlighted on the earliest of the Ordnance Survey maps, this spring of water supplied the old cottage here for many a year. Nowadays it has been covered—and has been like that for upwards of fifty years—although it was said to be in constant flow by those who lived here in earlier times. When the Yorkshire holy wells writer Edna Whelan (1989) came here in the 1980s, the running water could still be heard beneath a pile of large stones that covered its source. Today, stone slabs cover it over—but the water is still running below. It had a reputation of never running dry, even in droughts. I spoke with a local doctor in the late-1980s who told us that he was confident the Silver Well would always keep running and its water were fine to drink. It’s a pity the source of the spring is covered over and, surely, is a case for being exposed and open for folk to use once again…

In Collyer & Turner’s (1885) magnum opus on Ilkley, they thought the Silver Well “was probably a holy well” —and it probably was something along those lines, depending on how precisely we define the word ‘holy’. The notion that it may have been a place where, in earlier times, silver coins and other offerings were given to the spirit of the well in exhange for good health and fortune (as is found at springs and wells all over the world) was given a boost when, in the 1960s, a short distance east of Silver Well, was found a clutter of very old silver coins dating from the periods of Kings Edward I and II (13th and 14th Century). The coins were donated to the British Museum where, I presume, they still live. But they may have either come from this well, or were being deposited here. We’ll probably never know for sure. A number of other Silver Wells in Britain possess so-called holy associations.

References:

Collyer, Robert & Turner, J.H., Ilkley: Ancient and Modern, William Walker: Otley 1885.
Whelan, Edna & Taylor, Ian, Yorkshire Holy Wells and Sacred Springs, Northern Lights: Dunnington 1989.

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.

Silver Well (1), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

06/10/202610/10/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 10252 46583

Also Known as:

Carving no.60 (Hedges)
Carving no.225 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

From Ilkley central, go up Wells Road and, several hundred yards past the cattle-grid, keep your eyes peeled and turn left up the small moorland road for a half-mile and park-up at the start of the track to Silver Well cottage. Walk along here and, on the way, you may as well pass the cup-and-ring marked Weary Hill Stone, and the other Silver Well carvings further west through the heather. From the Silver Well (3) cup-marked stone, follow the walling uphill for nearly 100 yards until your reach the small gate. Go through it and stick to the footpath for 200 yards and then keep your eyes peeled for a large wonky ovoid stone less than 20 yards to your right. It’s a big thing, so you’ll find it easily enough.

Archaeology & History

Although this is primarily a cup-marked stone (a faint ring is possible around one of them), it’s a good design. It does it for me anyway! Sitting on a ridge at the top of a slope overlooking the Wharfe valley, from here the landscape opens up for many miles ahead of us looking mainly to the north, although the horizons both east and west also call our attention as the rising and setting sun would speak around the equinoxes. But it’s the airt of north which mainly calls from here. A scatter of cups splatter the rock surface, all of them on one half of the stone acting out in usual disorderly conduct apart from one spot where there are three deep cups in a line: this is the most notable part of the carving. At the top (southern) nose of the stone is a triangle of them and they then becoming increasingly disordered as you move along the stone. There are seemingly twenty of them altogether (perhaps more) with one of them having a short groove oozing out of it which can be difficult to see when the light isn’t quite right.

It was first described in Hedges (1986) survey, where he told it to be a “large flat rock in bracken with sixteen clear cups, four other possible cups, grooves and one basin”—although at the same time somehow, erroneously, he thought the carving may have been uncovered by Stuart Feather in 1970, confusing this stone with two more complex petroglyphs 300 yards to the west of here. Give it your attention when you’re walking on this ridge, before walking to the two others 300 yards to the west. It’s certainly worth looking at.

References:

Allen, J. Romilly, “Notice of Sculptured Rocks near Ilkley,” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 38, 1882.
Anonymous, Walks Around Cup and Ring Stones, ITIC: Bradford n.d. (1995)
Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Leeds 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks of Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Prehistoric Rock Art of Great Britain: A Survey of All Sites Bearing Motifs more Complex than Simple Cup-marks,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 55, 1989.

Acknowledgements: Big thanks to the petroglyphic hands of Graeme Chappell and Tom Cleland for the work at this stone. Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Village Cross, High Ackworth, West Yorkshire

06/10/202606/10/2026 megalithix

Cross: OS Grid Reference – SE 44073 18001

Getting Here

This old stone edifice is easy to find. As you’re going along the old A628 Pontefract Road through High Ackworth, just where the road junction takes you on the B6421 (Purston Lane), park up where the track takes you up to the church on the right. And there, just set back off the north-side of the road by the steps and curious old shelter, with the greenery and houses to the rear, you’ll see what you’re looking for.

Archaeology & History

Although this old village cross is set up on a three-tiered rise of steps, these steps are not as old as the cross remnant that surmounts it, as they were constructed in the 20th century. The final ‘step’ however—a part of the old cross-base—is much older. It’s precise age is unknown, but tradition relates it as being 16-17th Century.

Tradition relates the creation of the village cross to a great illness that befell the local villagers, whose tale was cited at some length by one of Ackworth’s early historians. It formerly stood beneath the boughs of a great elm tree, whose offspring are hopefully still around. Henry Thompson (1879) wrote:

The cross on the Green, 1870

Cross shown on 1852 map

“The Cross under the shadow of this kingly tree has a curious history in its keeping. From its steps, in the pre-Reformation times, the monks from the neighbouring priory at Nostel were wont on Fridays and Sundays to preach to the people. One of these, a man of noble soul and kindly heart, won the affections of the people in a wondrous manner. Children clung to his skirts in delight and love—the strong man admired and revered him, the old and weak reposed upon him as a pillar of strength and a tower of refuge. But business or piety called him to Rome. The villagers gave him their tears and he gave them his blessing. Under the shadow of the Vatican he was smitten by the Plague and died. Such was the love which his brethren of the Priory bore him, that they could not rest without having him sepultured in their midst. In its transit, the body passed through Ackworth; and nothing would satisfy the ignorant but faithful love of his old hearers but once more to see, even in death, the face of one who had loved them so well. The leaden coffin was opened, the village was stricken with the Plague and three or four hundred fell victims to the dread visitant.”

And it was here, wrote Saywell (1894) that,

“the Cross is said to have been erected on the exact spot where the body rested, to commemorate at once that event, and also the dire consequences which were permitted by God to flow from it. The date of its mutilation, the removal of the Cross, and the substitution of a ball (the emblem of the world), is generally ascribed to the time of the Great Rebellion.” (in 1642)

In addition to this, a Plague Stone was erected on the northern outskirt of the village, known as “the great stone on Castle Syke Hill”. Due to the condition of all the villagers, they became taboo to all who lived beyond Ackworth and so the old stone, said Thompson, became

“the only point of contact between them and the outer world. Upon that stone the Ackworth purchaser dropped his money into a vessel of water, for which, a few hours afterwards, he found his return in merchandise.”

The old Plague Stone can still be seen, a half-mile north of the village on the west-side of the Pontefract Road, just before Sandy Gate Lane….

References:

Saywell, J.L., The Parochial History of Ackworth, James Atkinson: Pontefract 1894.
Thompson, Henry, History of Ackworth School, Centenary Committee: Ackworth 1879.

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.

Silver Well (2), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

05/10/202605/10/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 10496 46625

Also Known as:

Carving no.70 (Hedges)
Carving no.240 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Go up Wells Road out of Ilkley central, up and across the cattle-grid and, one-third of a mile (0.5km) past the grid, keep your eyes peeled for the small road on your left. Go up here for literally half-a-mile and park at the roadside. From here you’ll see the straight track leading to the Silver Well cottage in the trees. Walk 250 yards along the track (past the larger Weary Hill [3] carving on the slope just above) towards the cottage and, about fufty 100 yards before reaching the gate, walk up the slope through the heather to the small flat-faced rock that looks down at you. If you’re approaching the much larger, more notable boulder of the Silver Well (3) carving, you need to be about 20 yards east of it.

Archaeology & History

This is a simple but notable cup-marked rock. As you walk up the slope towards it, you get the impression you’re looking at the front-end of a tomb entrance of some sort—but it’s nothing of the sort (sadly). Once you reach the flat face of stone, you’ll see that its topmost section is a thin wedge of stone along which are three distinct and quite deep cup-markings. The stone was first mentioned in Hedges (1986) survey, where he also thought there may have been a fourth cup on the south-side of the stone. When I first saw photos of this, I thought it was either a modern one or just another of Nature’s carved handiwork; but when we visited it recently our opinions changed.

There’s a rock a short distance east of here with a single cup-mark on it—but it’s not really worth looking at and might not even be the real deal.

References:

Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Leeds 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks of Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

Acknowledgements: Big thanks for help and assistance on our day’s venture to Graeme Chappell and Tom Cleland.

Silver Well (3), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

04/10/202605/10/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 10474 46635

Also Known as:

Carving no.69 (Hedges)
Carving no.238 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Nice ‘n easy to find this one. Take the Wells Road up out of Ilkley central, up and over the cattle-grid and, one-third of a mile (0.5km) past the grid, keep your eyes peeled fro the small road on your left. Go up here for literally half-a-mile and park at the roadside. From here you’ll see the straight track leading to the Silver Well cottage in the trees. Walk 300 yards along the track (past the larger Weary Hill [3] carving on the slope just above) towards the cottage and, about ten yards before reaching the gate, walk uphill through the heather to the notable large boulder forty yards up the slope. Y’ can’t really miss it.

Archaeology & History

On a recent visit to this cup-marked stone, good old Mother E greeted us with a dark grey sky and so the design we were hoping to catch on this large sloping stone wasn’t quite what we hoped. The wide and half-inch deep cup-marks were visible when we stooped low to look across the surface of the stone, but from above they were difficult to make out. Altogether we counted eight cups—but Boughey & Vickerman (2003) reckoned there were nine of them. Also, well-defined grooves, half-natural and half-man-made, were just above visible, but we couldn’t see them in their entirety. In John Hedges (1986) sketch of the design, the cups and wide deep grooves are clear to see.

In the event that you have a look at this petroglyph, it would be best to visit it on a clear day when the sun is low—and if you brush the surface with water it would highlight the design pretty clearly. It’s also possible that you’d see new elements on the carving as a result of your work.

One final note: when we came here recently, both Graeme Chappell and Tom Cleland related to me that the rock itself was quite a notable red colour—which was totally lost on me as I’m the colorblind dude in the bunch! But, as they both suggested, this distinct colouration was probably one of the ingredients the stone was chosen to be carved. Makes sense.

References:

Allen, J. Romilly, “Notice of Sculptured Rocks near Ilkley,” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 38, 1882.
Anonymous, Walks Around Cup and Ring Stones, ITIC: Bradford n.d. (1995)
Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Leeds 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks of Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

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.

Weary Hill (1), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

08/09/202610/09/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 10614 46251

Also Known as:

Carving 243 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

The best description to get here is, from Ilkley, to go up Wells Road, over the cattle grid, and about 500 yards past the cattle grid take the left turn up Keighley Road. This becomes a truly dodgy dirt-track when you hit the road to the Silver Well cottage on your right, but keep going uphill for another after a short while, but keeping walking uphill for another 500 yards till you reach a good-sized footpath on your right. Walk along here for 50-60 yards and then walk into the vegetation on your right and, just a few yards along, you’ll see a good-sized elongated stone in front of you.

Archaeology & History

This large boulder has about nine cup-marked impressions, both on its eastern topmost part and others a few feet away on a lower south-facing section of the stone. But they’re not all man-made. The cups on the top-east surface are the ones we should be paying attention to. Of the three or four that we can see, at least two of them are man-made: it’s possible that all of them have been man-affected, but without a detailed geomorphological analysis, we’ll never know for sure. The cups and dips on the other, lower section of the rock are Nature’s handiwork. That doesn’t mean they had no importance in the overall mythic nature of the carving but, as with most British petroglyphs, we may never know one way or the other.

References:

Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.

Harden Moor (1), Harden, Bingley, West Yorkshire

31/08/202611/09/2026 megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 07342 38371

Getting Here

We took the long road round to get here, but perhaps the easiest route, from Harden village, is to go up Long Lane then turn right up the tiny Ryecroft Road. Three-quarters of a mile up, past the entrance to the quarry, park up. Walk back past the entrance to the quarry, and barely 50 yards past it, a wall on your left heads up the slope. Walk up alongside the wall on the same side as the quarry (not in the field) for 250 yards where you reach the moorland and some fencing that runs to your left. Walk alongside this for about 40 yards and then head to one of the birch trees on the moorland about 25 yards away. Hereby is the large earthfast rock. You’re damn close!

Archaeology & History

Rediscovered earlier this year by Lee Brotherton, this is—officially at least—the only prehistoric cup-and-ring stone on Harden Moor (a modern one has been carved not far from the Harden Moor circle more than 500 yards to the north-east). A single cup-marked stone not far from the circle seems to be the only other petroglyph up here…..and for good reason: much of this small moorland area was heavily quarried in the 19th and 20th century and, obviously, traces of the prehistoric sites that were mentioned by earlier antiquarians have been destroyed. This carving has been damn lucky to survive!

When you stand on top of this large curvaceous earthfast stone, you’ll notice a deep straight industrial cut into the edge of the rock, part of which runs into a section of the carving. So it seems that the stone was selected for destruction but, for one reason or another, was spared the fate of its neighbours—thankfully!

Of the carving: the most notable thing you’ll see when you visit is the large, wide cup-and-ring design near the highest point of the rock, roughly 45° right of the deep cut. It’s clearly visible even under bright sunlight, but as you can see in the photos, we’ve wet the stone and this element stands out much clearer. A carved semi-circle with a smaller shallower cup-mark is attached at the side of this large cup-and-ring. This may originally have been a complete cup-and-ring, but on our visit here, the high sun prevented us getting a clearer perspective.

At the top-end (south) of the deep quarry-mark is a single cup with a wide surrounding ring, which may have originally been complete. What seems to be a carved line emerges from this central cup-mark and moves to the southern side of the stone; and it seems there’s a much wider, incomplete outer ring arching round the south- and eastern section of the inner ring. These elements are visible in the photos but, once again, they need to be looked at in better light, when the sun is low. Further down the side of the deep quarry mark, closer to the edge of the stone, is what seems to be another single cup-and-ring. There are other marks on this part of the rock, but most of them seem to be natural.

A curious design element on the stone is at the more northern end where a notable large singular cup-mark is found. When we brushed water across this part of the stone, the isolated cup-mark seemed attached to an elongated, almost rectangular carved ‘enclosure’ design, near the middle of which was another shallow cup. You can make it out in the photos, but it was difficult (again!) to see this clearly.

One final note to this site entry: despite a high degree of improbability, there might still be other carvings on some of the remaining rocks on this moorland. The general rule is a simple one: where there’s one carving, others tend to be close by. So keep your eyes peeled if you explore the area…

Acknowledgements: Huge thanks to Martin Ferner for getting us up here.

High Brunthwaite (2), Silsden, West Yorkshire

20/05/202626/05/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 05621 46181

Getting Here

From Silsden, head up to Brunthwaite village and follow the same directions as if you’re going to see the Brunthwaite (1) cup-marked stone and, once there, look at the walling immediately behind it and you’ll see, at the base of the wall, peeking out is a small earthfast boulder. It’s about a yard away. You’ll find it.

Archaeology & History

Sticking out from the edge of the walling at ground level is this low small cup-marked stone, rediscovered by rock art explorer Tom Cleland just a few weeks ago. It sits behind the cluster of rocks that were dumped here not too many years back. The carving comprises of at least three well-defined and quite deep cups, only two of which were initially visible until we cleared out a third one that had become filled with soil. It’s possible that there’s more of them on the stone, but we’d have to take the wall down to find that out!

The stone seems to be earthfast and may have remained in the same spot, untouched, since when it was first carved four or five thousand years ago—and certainly the depths of the cups suggest that its it’s been pretty much covered over for most of its life. The walling that’s been built on top of it is pretty recent by comparison; but it’s notable that its petroglyphic neighbour, the High Brunthwaite (3) carving, 175 yards to the east, is also an earthfast rock with the field-wall built on top of it.

Its somewhat minimalist appearance reminds me of several of the cup-marked petroglyphs at the top of Shipley Glen, six miles southeast of here, including the Baildon Moor (126) and (130) carvings…

Acknowledgements: Massive appreciation to Thomas Cleland for finding this carving and showing us it’s whereabouts.

High Brunthwaite (1), Silsden, West Yorkshire

12/05/202623/05/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 05619 46181

Getting Here

As you’re going into Silsden up the A6034 road, over the canal bridge, turn right (east) and go up Howden Road for half-a-mile, then go left up Hawber Lane and after 250 yards veer right along Brunthwaite Lane. After nearly another half-mile, through gorgeous High Brunthwaite hamlet and just as the road bends round past the last of the gardens and houses, go through the gate into the field on your right. You’re needing to look at the walling here, which runs alongside the road, but on the field-side, barely 10 yards up. A cluster of rocks has been piled-up against the wall. The largest rounded broken one is the one you’re looking for.

Archaeology & History

Discovered recently by the petroglyph explorer Thomas Cleland, this is one of two cup-marked stones in close attendance to each other. It’s nowt special to look at—unless you’re an ardent rock art buff!—as it consists of just two large well-formed cup-marks on its near-vertical face: the most distinct one being some two-inch across and a half-inch deep. The stone was obviously rolled here from very close by and just piled up against the wall and has been broken from a larger piece of rock, but we could see no other cup-marks on the others laid around it (although we couldn’t lift and turn the others over to see if there was anything on their undersides). The earthfast High Brunthwaite (2) cup-marked stone is just a yard away at the base of the wall.

Acknowledgements: Massive appreciation to Thomas Cleland for finding this carving and showing us it’s whereabouts.

Hangingstones Quarry (1), Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

27/04/202629/04/2026 megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 12681 46748

Also Known as:

Carving no.120 (Hedges)
Carving 278 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

From the Cow & Calf car-park, walk towards and past the gigantic Calf rock, swerving round the fallen mass of rocks and into the trees at the back. Walk uphill to the Hanging Stones cup and ring stones, then keep heading—down the slope then back up the next one—west, for barely 100 yards until you’re on the level ground again, following the footpath alongside the heather. Barely 50 yards along, keep your eyes peeled in the heather for a low flat rock just a few yards in. Forage around and you’ll find it.

Archaeology & History

You’ll no doubt be seeing this carving after you’ve visited the impressive Hanging Stones petroglyphs 150 yards to the east. And you’ll probably be disappointed in its lack of visual grandeur when compared to its more ornate eastern neighbour. But the petroglyph fans among you should give it your attention.

When the dawn or evening daylight cuts across the rock, the design looks much better than at sun high, perhaps telling us that the message of the stone coincided with those periods of the day. The gentle folds of the stone itself morph into the carving: evening and morning light cutting subtle shadowy folds across the rock, giving it an organic texture that our aboriginal ancestors told to be a vital essence of stone itself. The two small clusters of cup-marks upon this stone become greater than their basic design when brushed with the shadows and glows of a sunset. And when our aboriginal peoples painted them in ochre and other colours, an even greater mythos emerged—but sadly it is forgotten here….

When looked at with the simplistic eyes of the archaeo-mind, this and its compatriots are little more than a number of marks on lifeless rocks. This stone for example was described in John Hedges’ (1986) survey as being just “two groups of four and five cups and grooves”—nothing more—with naught but an echo in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) later work. The carving has neighbours even more basic in the heather close by…

References:

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.