Tag: antiquarian

Castlestead Ring, Cullingworth, West Yorkshire

megalithix

Enclosure:  OS Grid References – SE 0514 3627

Also Known as:

  1. Blood Dykes

Getting Here

The complete Castlestead Ring on 1852 map
The complete Castlestead Ring on 1852 map

Dead easy this one!  On the Keighley-Halifax A629 road, about 500 yards south past Flappit Spring (public house), there’s a small road to your right.  Walk on here for 200 yards and look in the field to your right.  If the grass is long you might struggle to see it, but gerrin the field and it runs right up against the wall.  Y’ can’t miss it really!  You can park up a coupla hundred yards down the A629 main road, by the old quarry, and walk back to get here.

Archaeology & History

Although I’ve earlier described this as “nowt much to look at,” the more I come here, the more I like the place (sad aren’t !!?).  The hard-core  archaeology folks amidst you should like it aswell.  Not to be confused with the site of the same name a mile to the south of here, this large earthwork was shown on the 1852 OS-map as a complete ring, which is also confirmed in old folklore; and a survey done by Bradford University in the late 1970s indicated a complete circle was once in evidence.  To view this for yourself: if you type the OS grid-reference into Google maps, you’ll see from the aerial image that a complete ring was indeed here at sometime in the not-too-distant past.

Bend in the ditch on northern side of the ring
Harry Speight’s 1898 drawing

Today however – indeed, since William Keighley described it 1858 – there’s only a shallow, semi-circular ditch to be seen in the fields.  But despite this, its remains have brought it to the literary attention of about a dozen writers – though we still don’t know exactly what it was!  The best conjecture is by the archaeologist Bernard Barnes (1982), who thinks it best to describe as a enclosure or earthwork dating from the Bronze Age.  Eighty feet across and covering more than 1.5 acres, an excavation of the site in 1911 found nothing to explain its status.

One of the first descriptions of this site comes from the pen of the industrial Bradford historian, John James in 1876 (though Hearne, Leland and Richardson describe it in brief much earlier). Talking of the sparsity of prehistoric remains in the region (ancient history wasn’t his forte!), he said, “I know of no British remains in the parish that are not equivocal, unless a small earth-work lying to the westward of Cullingworth may be considered of that class.”

Indeed it is! He continued:

“It is situated on a gentle slope, about two hundred yards from a place called Flappit Springs, on the right-hand side of the road leading thence to Halifax. The form has been circular. (my italics) The greater part of it to the south has been destroyed by the plough. I took several measurements of that part which remains, but have mislaid the memoranda I then made; I however estimate the diameter to have been about 50 yards. The ditch to the westward is very perfect. It is about two yards deep and three wide; with the earth thrown up in the form of a rampart on the inner side. The remain is less perfect to the eastward.”

James then speculates on the nature of the site, thinking it to be “one of a line of forts erected by the Brigantes…to prevent the inroads of the Sistuntii.” Intriguing idea!

A few years later when William Cudworth (1876) visited the site, he described:

“At present there only remains about one-fourth part of a circle representing the appearance of a considerable earthwork or rampart. The remainder has been cut away by the construction of the road leading to the allotments.”

Echoing Mr James’ sentiments, Cudworth also suggested “it may have been an enclosure to guard their cattle, while in summer they grazed on the vast slope on which it stands.”  Y’ never know…

NW section showing bank and ditch
Exposed stonework of inner embankment

A visit to the place on October 21 2007, found not only a profusion of mushrooms scattering the field (varying species of Amanita, Lycoperdon, Panaeolina, Psilocybes, etc), and the remnants of two old stone buildings 20 yards of the NE side, but a distinctive ‘entrance’ on the northern side of the ring, which gave the slight impression of it being a possible henge monument. It’s certainly big enough! All traces of the southern-side of the ring however, have been ploughed out.

The views from here are quite excellent, nearly all the way round. You’re knocking-on a 1000 feet above sea level and the high hills of Baildon, Ilkley, Ogden Moor and the Oxenhope windmills are your mark-points. There’s one odd thing to think about aswell: if this is a prehistoric site, it’s pretty much an isolated one according to the archaeo-catalogue – and as we know only too well, that aint the rule of things. We’ve got adjacent moorlands south and west of here, very close by. Likelihood is, there’s undiscovered stuff to be foraged for hereabouts…

Folklore

An old folk-name given to this ring is the Blood Dykes, which is supposed to relate to the place being the site of a great battle.

References:

  1. Barnes, Bernard, Man and the Changing Landscape, Eaton: Merseyside 1982.
  2. Bennett, Paul, The Old Stones of Elmet, Capall Bann: Milverton 2001.
  3. Cudworth, William, Round about Bradford, Thomas Brear: Bradford 1876.
  4. Elgee, Frank & Harriett, The Archaeology of Yorkshire, Methuen: London 1933.
  5. Forshaw, C.F., ‘Castlestead, near Cullingworth,’ in Yorkshire Notes and Queries – volume 4, H.C. Derwent: Bradford 1908.
  6. James, John, The History and Topography of Bradford, Longmans: London 1876.
  7. Keighley, J.J., ‘The Prehistoric Period,’ in Faull & Moorhouse’s, West Yorkshire: An Archaeological Survey to AD 1500 – volume 1, WYMCC: Wakefield 1981.
  8. Keighley, William, Keighley, Past and Present, Arthur Hall: Keighley 1858.
  9. Speight, Harry, Chronicles and Stories of Bingley and District, Elliott Stock: London 1898.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Horse Close Hill, Skipton, North Yorkshire

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Enclosure / Settlement:  OS Grid Reference – SD 9966 5046

Also Known as:

  1. Cawder Hall Enclosure
  2. MNY21002
  3. Scheduled Monument 29151

Getting Here

From Skipton town centre follow the A6131 road south, out of town, for less than a mile, and turn left up Cawder Lane. Avoid following the road into the housing, instead bearing up the country lane to your left.  Just before reaching the farmhouses 200 yards up, note the stony hilltop above you on your left (up behind Horse Close Farm).  Walk up there for 250 yards NE and you’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

Horse Hill enclosure, looking W

This is an impressive site.  I’d say very impressive! (but I’m easily pleased)  Oddly however, I can’t find a damn thing about this place in any of my archaeo-records and it appears (as far as I’m aware) that no survey has ever been made of it.  Which is bloody incredible!  Indeed, the only archaeological notes that appear to exist about this very impressive and well-preserved Iron Age enclosure, states, “Subcircular enclosed settlement on Horse Close Hill 250m north of Horse Close Farm.”  That’s it!  Nothing else!  So I’m afraid you’ve only got my crappy description of it to go on for the time being…

As the aerial image below shows, this is a large oval-shaped enclosure, defined primarily by an almost complete ring of double walling arranged around this hilltop site.  Measuring approximately 78 yards (71m) north-south, and nearly 75 yards (70m) along its longer east-west axis, with a circumference of about 235 yards (215m), many of the upright stones which define its edges stand between 1-3 feet in height.  Some of these stones have obviously been moved into position by the lads who built the structure, but the site has also taken advantage of a number of large earthfast boulders in its construction.

If you walk around the edges of the walled enclosure, almost every bit of it is clearly visible.  Between the defining inner and outer walling of the structure we find sections of the site packed with smaller stones, giving the impression that it may once have been filled all round, making the walls thick strong defensive ones.  But without a more detailed investigation, we’ll never really know…

Horse Close settlement, looking NE
Aerial view of enclosure

It is clearly very similar in structure, and probably date, to the well-known Brackenhall circle on Shipley Glen, near Baildon (though the nature of the Brackenhall site has long been a topic of controversy).  And, as with the Brackenhall site, a number of cup-and-ring stones are found close by — including the Great Wood Laithe carving in the field immediately below on the west side.  I’ve also found a similar structure to this on the hills above Steeton, a few miles to the south (though it’s not as well-defined as this one).

Although the site is mainly defined by its oval walling, we also find other stretches of walling that run outwards from the central site: one in particular running north-east for 35 yards out towards a small standing-stone further up the field.  Other curious earthworks and remains scatter the fields on the eastern sides of this main feature, which the helpful farmer here pointed out to us.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


High Laithe Stone, Skipton, North Yorkshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SD 9952 4991

Also Known as:

  1. Carving SK2 (Hedges)
  2. Carving no.17 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

High Laithe cup-and-ring stone

Worth the short trek if you like your cup&rings!  On the Aire Valley Keighley-to-Skipton road (A629), as you approach the southern outskirts of Skipton, take the turning at the roundabout as if you’re going into the town up the A6131. Go over the next roundabout a coupla hundred yards on, then 200 yards further on note the right-turn up over the canal (big hotel just here, where you could park up).  Walk over the canal up the tiny country lane. Ignore the first left turn and walk up, bearing next left uphill and onto the footpath. Walk up the hillocky quarried bit until you reach the stile in the wall.  Once on the other side, look in the walling 20 yards uphill.  You can’t miss it!

Archaeology & History

First described by Messrs Hartley and Radley in the Yorkshire Archaeological Register of 1968, this small “standing stone”, less than three-feet tall, has a distinct cup-and-double- ring carved onto its upright north-facing edge.  The outline of the carving is visible even in bad light, though you might wanna rest and gaze for a minute or two for yourself and the lighting to adjust if it’s a grey day.  There’s another cup-marking below the bottom right of the double-ring, with another ‘possible’ just above ground-level.

References:

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

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Airthrey Stone, Stirling University, Stirlingshire

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Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NS 81410 96489

Also Known as:

  1. Airthrey Castle Stone
  2. Canmore ID 47115
  3. Stirling University Stone

Getting Here

Airthrey stone, looking north

Dead easy to find!  From Stirling head out on the A9 road towards Bridge of Allan and Stirling Uni.  You’ll hit a small roundabout a mile out of Stirling – go straight across and up the little bendy road.  Follow this round the bottom side of the Uni for a half-mile, watching out for the left-turn as the tree-line ends, taking you up to the factory behind the trees (if you hit the roundabout a bit further on, you’ve gone too far!).  Go up the slope and onto the level sports playing fields – where this old beauty will catch your eye!  If you somehow miss it, just get to the Uni and ask some of the students where it is!

Archaeology & History

Airthrey Stone, looking NW

This single standing stone is a beauty!  It’s big – it’s hard – and it’s bound to get you going! (assuming you’re into megaliths that is)  Standing proud and upright on the eastern fields of the Stirling University campus, A.F. Hutchinson (1893) measured it as being “9ft 1in in height.  Its greatest breadth is 4ft 10in, and its circumference 14ft.”  A bittova big lad!  More than fifty years later when the Royal Commission (1963) lads got round to measuring its vital statistics, only an inch of the upright had been eaten by the ground.  The stone was highlighted on the earliest OS-maps of the area.

Folklore

Of the potential folklore here, most pens and voices seem quiet; although Mr Hutchinson (1897) told of William Nimmo’s early thoughts, linking the history of this stone with the others nearby, saying:

“Of what events these stones are monuments can not with certainty be determined.  In the ninth century, Kenneth II, assembled the Scottish army in the neighbourhood of Stirling, in order to avenge the death of Alpin his father, taken prisoner and murdered by the Picts.  Before they had time to march from the place of rendezvous, they were attacked by the Picts… As the castle and town of Stirling were at that date in the hands of the Picts, the rendezvous of Kenneth’s army and the battle must have been on the north side of the river; and as every circumstance of that action leads us to conclude that it happened near the spot where these stones stand, we are strongly inclined to consider them as monuments of it.  The conjecture, too, is further confirmed from a tract of ground in the neighbourhood which, from time immemorial, hath gone by the name of Cambuskenneth: that is, the field or creek of Kenneth.”

And although this hypothesis is somewhat improbable, it was reiterated in the new Statistical Account of 1845, which also suggested that this and the other Pathfoot Stone were “intended probably to commemorate some battle or event long since forgotten.”

References:

  1. Hutchinson, A.F., “The Standing Stones of Stirling District,” in The Stirling Antiquary, volume 1, 1893.
  2. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments Scotland, Stirling – volume 1, HMSO: Edinburgh 1963.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Randolphfield, Stirling, Stirlingshire

megalithix

Standing Stones:  OS Grid Reference – NS 7945 9246

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 46226
  2. Randolph Field Stones
Randolphfield stones shown on 1820 map

Getting Here

Pretty easy to find.  Head down the B8051 road south, out of Stirling, for a ¼-mile.  Keep your eyes peeled for the central police station on your right as you come out of town.  The stones are on the grassy forecourt in front of the police station!

Archaeology & History

It’s amazing that these stones are still standing!  Jut out of the city centre, very close to the main road and right outside the central police station: if these standing stones would have stood anywhere in England, they’d have been destroyed.  Thankfully, the Scots have more about them regarding their history, traditions and antiquities.

Randolphfield stone SW
NE Randolphfield stone

Of the two stones that remain here, they stand in (just about) the same position that they were shown as on an 1820 map of Stirling.  The northernmost of the two is about 3½-feet tall and rests upright against the edge of the track and lawn; whilst its taller companion — knocking close on to six-feet tall — stands proudly near the middle of a well-kept lawn less than 50 yards away.  Once you’ve found one, the other’s easy to spot!

It’s obvious that the larger of the two stones was cut down at some time in the recent past, as there are several blatant cuts where the standing stone had been snapped into at least three portions — but whoever did the damage was given a bittova bollocking, as the stone was cemented back into its near-original form and stood back upright again.  To this day, as one of the female officers coming out of the station indignantly told me, “they’re protected!”  Long may they stay that way!

In Mr A.F. Hutchinson’s (1893) early description of these stones he told that they stood “in a line from SW to NE — the line of direction making an angle of 235° with the magnetic north.

“The southwest stone stands 4ft above the ground.  The portion underground measures 2ft 5in; so that in all it measures 6ft 5in.  Its girth is 6ft 6in.  It is four-sided in shape—nearly square—three of the faces measuring each 21 inches, and the fourth 15 inches.  The northeast stone is smaller and less regular in form.  Its height above ground is 3ft 6in, and its girth 4ft 6in.  Both stones are pillars of dolerite, of the same material as the pillar stones of the Castle rock, from which place they have apparently been brought.  The larger stones shows some marks on it, which have been supposed to be artificial.  They are , however, merely the natural joints characteristic of these blocks…”

Folklore

Like many standing stones scattering our isles, this site possesses the old tradition of them marking a battle — in this case, the Battle of Bannockburn.  Once again, Mr Hutchinson (1893) wrote:

“The local tradition as to the origin and meaning of these stones is well-known.  It is thus stated by (William) Nimmo in his History of Stirlingshire, p.84…: ‘Two stones stand to this day in the field near Stirling, where Randolph, Earl of Murray, and Lord Clifford, the english general, had a sharp encounter, the evening before the great battle of Bannockburn.’  Again, p.193:- ‘To perpetuate the memory of this victory…two stones were reared up in that field and are still to be seen there.’ …The Old Statistical Account of St. Ninians (Rev. Mr Sheriff, 1796), makes the same statement, p.406-8:- ‘In a garden at Newhouse, two large stones still standing were erected in memory of the battle fought on the evening before the battle of Bannockburn, between Randolph and Clifford.'”

Yet the name ‘Randolphfield’ is apparently no older (in literary records) than the end of the 17th century and the thoughts of Hutchinson and other local historians is that the two stones here, whilst perhaps having some relevance to an encounter between the Scots and the invading english, were probably erected in more ancient times.

References:

  1. Hutchinson, A.F., “The Standing Stones of Stirling District,” in The Stirling Antiquary, volume 1, 1893.
  2. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments Scotland, Stirling – volume 1, HMSO: Edinburgh 1963.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


St. Margaret’s Well, Binsey, Oxford, Oxfordshire

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Holy Well:  OS Grid Reference – SP 486 080

Archaeology & History

A sacred water source that is thought to have taken its name from the adjacent church of St. Margaret (makes sense!).  The site was described at some length in the fine work of Robert Charles Hope (1893), where he quoted extensively from earlier works:

“At the west end of this chappel, about three yards distant, is the well or spring, antiently and to this day called St. Margaret’s Well, being the very same that she by her prayers at the building of the chapple opened. Of which heare a certaine old English poet, who in the life of St. Frideswyde in the legend of English saints, speaking of her various fortunes and of her passage from Bampton to this place, saith thus:

Ther fer with her [fellows.] she be laft ther
And to serve Jhesu Christ . a chapel leet [raise.]
Ther as is yit a fayr cort . and a cherche fayr and swete
Arerid in the honour . of her and Seynte Margrete
As this mayde [lived.] ther . in holy lyf and clene
The maydenes that were with her . gone hem ofte be [bemoan.]
That water was sum del to fer . hem ofte for smale dede
And cride on Seynt Friswid . that she schold hem therof [rid]
This mayde Seynt Friswid . bad our lordis sonde
That he water thorw his gras . hem sente ner honde
So sprong ther up a welle . cler [enough] and clene
That fond hem water inowf . tho dorst hem nought be mene
That beside the cherche is [it] . in the west syde
That mony a mon hath bote do . and that men seggeth wide.

Over St. Margaret’s Well was a covering of stone, and thereon on the front the picture of St. Margaret (or perhaps St. Frideswyde), pulled down by Alderman Sayre, of Oxon, a little before the late war, 1639.

To this well also and her image and certaine reliques in the chapple did the people come on pilgrimage with as great devotion to ease their burdened soules and obtaine resolutions of their doubts, as they would to an oracle.

And here, also, when those maimed and unsound folke had bin cured either by bathing in, or drinking of; this water, hang up their crutches as a speciall memorandum of their cured griefs. For which end and purpose there were severall preists that inhabited here appointed by the Prior of St. Frideswide’s purposely to confess and absolve those pilgrims.

Near to this place it was that the Lady Edyne, of Wynton, the widdow of Sir William Lancelot, knight, had a vision. (See Twyne, xxi., 199.)

The well wee find almost to the last frequented by superstitious people, and especially about a hundred years before the dissolution.  Soe much, that they were forced to enclose it–as in old time before, they had defended it–with a little house of stone over it with a lock and a dore to it. But all decaying and going much to ruine, at the suppression of St. Frideswyde’s Priory, was at last –I meane the little house–about twenty-five years agoe, pulled downe and quite taken away. Soe that now being overgrowne with nettles and other weeds, and harbouring frogs, snails, and vermin, scarce owneth the name of a well; noe more than the old and small building joyning to the north side of the chapple doth–as formally it did–a court.

The well is now in better condition. When I visited it on 25th October, 1887, the churchyard was tidily fenced and very neatly kept. At the well a descent of some five steps brought one to an arched vault, beneath which, in the centre of the flooring, was a round basin containing the water of the well, the surface of the water being about six feet below the level of the ground.  On the wall above the arch was this inscription:

“S. MARGARET’S WELL.

S. Margaretae fontem, precibus S. Frideswidæ (ut fertur) concessum, nquinatum diu obrutumque in usum revocavit T. J. Prout, Aed. Xti alumnus, Vicarius, A. S. MDCCCLXXIV.

At the time of the restoration of this well, an Oxford wit, having regard to its proximity to the church, suggested for an inscription:

Ariston men hydor
When you open your pew-door,
This may comfort supply
Should the sermon be dry.
(Ibid., pp. 323-328, et seq.)

Denham Tracts, p. 151: The well of St. Margaret or St. Frideswide, in Binsey churchyard, scarce two miles from Oxford, is supposed to have sprung from the prayers of St. Frideswide, and many in olden times consulted it as an oracle on the state of their burdened souls; maimed and sick persons drank and bathed in the waters, and were cured by them. The stone edifice was in the last century destroyed, but has been restored.“

References:

  1. Hope, R.C., The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England, Elliot Stock: London 1893.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian 


Tobar Mor, Tarbert, Gigha, Argyll

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Sacred Well:  OS Grid Reference – NR 6564 5190

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 38609
  2. Great Well of the Winds
  3. St Beathag’s Well
  4. Tobar Bheathaig

Folklore

There are a number of sacred and healing wells on this small island, but this site in particular was deemed magickal by folk from far and wide.  Found on the northwest slopes of Cnoc Largie (around which are other heathen spots) this legendary site had an attendant keeper of the well:

“an aged female direach, or guardian, whose uncanny powers could be commanded by a small offering of silver.  Following this the cover of the sacred well would be removed in order that its waters might be ceremonially cleansed with a white clamshell prior to being stirred three times, sunwise, to the accompaniment of ritual incantations.  Then three shell-fulls of the sacred water would be hurled aloft in the direction of the desired wind which, before the day was out, invariably appeared.”

This simple ritual obviously tells that it was a heathen site, seemingly one for divination and magick.  Another piece of folklore (found at other wells) told that if the cover on the well were left unattended, its waters could overflow and flood the entire island.

References:

  1. Anonymous, Exploring Historic Kintyre and the Isle of Gigha, Harlequin Press: Oban n.d.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

The Bodach and Cailleach, Gigha, Argyll

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Sacred Stones:  OS Grid Reference – NR 6382 4730

Folklore

The Bodach and the Cailleach
The Bodach & the Cailleach

On this “Isle of the Gods” — as some historians proclaim Gigha to mean — the ancient rites and ceremonies of local folk continued until pretty recent times.  One writer narrated some intriguing pre-christian events connected to this curious and little-known place, speaking of indigenous heathen rites:

“These are in fact known to have persisted on the island until well into the early part of the (19th) century when Irish fishermen could still be seen climbing the little hill of Moinean Sitheil, in the sacred Moss of Peace below Ardminish, to pay homage to the “Old Ones” of Gigha: a pair of ancient legend-shrouded stones known as the Bodach and the Cailleach, that from time immemorial have stood upon a low green knoll below the farm of Achamore.

“Through the countless ages the strange jug-headed little Bodach and his smaller consort have kept steadfast vigil over Gigha: their mysterious aura said to guarantee its continuing fertility and prosperity as they link the thriving island of today with beliefs and traditions having roots in the earth-cults and sun-worship of primeval times.  In the past folk would have honoured them with offerings of meal or milk and even now they still command considerable local affectation and respect, albeit expressed in less overtly pagan ways.  And so they stand as ever upon their tiny hillock gazing out across tumbling terraces of old Cantereoch and beautiful Ardlamey Bay, inscrutable and silent, yet with a strangely ‘knowing’ air impossible to define.”

References:

  1. Anonymous, Exploring Historic Kintyre and the Isle of Gigha, Harlequin Press: Oban n.d.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Thursday Market Cross, York, North Yorkshire

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Cross (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – SE 603 519

Archaeology & History

Early drawing of York’s Market Cross

This old cross was demolished long since, but I think it’s important to rejunevate a memory of its existence back into our times.  Little has been written about the site as it was destroyed more than 200 years ago and images of the edifice are rare indeed!  It was found near the modern centre of the city and although this ornate-looking thirty-foot tall cross was obviously impressive, an even earlier upright stone stood here in the 13th and 14th century.  But this new carved monument took precedence over its older and lesser upright.  First described — I think! — by Thomas Gent (1730), he told us that,

“The old cross stood towards the Kennel, against the middle of the market.  The lower part was an octagon, had an ascent of six high steps, covered with Tyles for Butchers, higher up with nitches, in which had been effigies and a small pillar above with four Dials and over them a Fane.”

A few years later when Francis Drake (1788) described the same monument, he added very few extra details; though told us it had five steps and not six — but this seems to have been an error on his behalf.  In C.B. Knight’s (1944) work we have what seems to be the most complete historical description of this lost stone edifice.  He wrote:

“In 1429 a new stone cross had been erected in Thursday Market in place of its predecessor by Marion Braythwayt, widow of John Braythwayt, who was Lord Mayor in 1394… This Cross was described by a writer in 1683 as “a fair Cross of stone, built upon the ascent of five steps, and hath neatly cut in stone a turret or battlement eight square, upon which is placed a round pillar with a four-square stone upon the top, which hath a sundial placed upon every square, and a vane above.  The Cross hath a penthouse round about it, covered over with tile, to shelter the market people in rainy weather, and is supported upon eight posts, upon one of which, on the south side, is fixed an iron yard-wand, the standard measure of the market.”  In 1705 the ancient Market Cross…was pulled down.”

References:

  1. Cobb, Gerald, “Note on a Drawing of Thursday Market Cross, York,” in The Antiquaries Journal, 43:1, 1963.
  2. Davies, Robert, Walks about the City of York, Nichols & Sons: Westminster 1880.
  3. Drake, Francis, Eboracum; or the History and Antiquities of the City of York, Wilson & Spence: York 1788.
  4. Gent, Thomas, The Antient and Modern History of the Famous City of York, Thomas Hammond: York 1730.
  5. Knight, Charles Bruton, A History of the City of York, Herald: York & London 1944.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian 


Glovershaw Quarry Stone, Baildon Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 13044 40093

Also Known as:

  1. Carving BM5 (Hedges)
  2. Carving no.122 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Follow the same directions as those to reach the small Central Design Stone up past the top-end of Shipley Glen.  You’ll notice the small disused quarry just a few yards away, and this partly-covered flat stone lies right at the very edge of the quarry itself.

Archaeology & History

Faint cups on CR-122
Plan of CR-122 (after Hedges)

Unless you catch this stone in good light, many of the cups on this design are difficult to make out; but defocus for a bit and they’ll come to you.  Around 13 cups have been counted on this stone, with a couple of grooves: one of which descends just by the small arc (a common local feature on Baildon’s carvings), near the eastern side of the stone.  A larger basin below this, covered by earth, may or may not be natural.  Two of the cups here may have been carved sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, probably around the time the quarrying was being done.

As is common in some parts of Britain, this carving (and others nearby) was found in association with a small cairn-field, much of which has long since gone.

It’s very probable that there were other petroglyphs close to this one, but which have subsequently been destroyed as a result of the quarrying operations here.

References:

  1. Baildon, W. Paley, Baildon and the Baildons – parts 1-15, Adelphi: London 1913-1926.
  2. Bennett, Paul, Megalithic Ramblings between Ilkley and Baildon, private manuscript: Shipley 1982.
  3. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Leeds 2003.
  4. Jackson, Sidney, “Cup-Marked Boulder near the Glovershaw Footpath,” in Cartwright Hall Archaeology Group Bulletin, 2:17, 1957.
  5. Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian