Tag: Local history

Balimeanach (3), Loch Earn, Comrie, Perthshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 64118 22897

Getting Here

Balimeanach (3) carving

Loch Earn (between the villages of Lochearnhead and St Fillans) has a road running on each side: the north-side is the A85, the south-side is a minor single-track road.  You need to be on the south-side. Roughly halfway along the loch, there’s rough parking near Ardvorlich House; and from the track to Ardvorlich, keep on the lochside road, walking east for about 400 yards and then go up the dirt-track on your right.  Walk up here for 450 yards until your reach the cottage. There’s a field above you to the left with some small crags near the top: walk uphill (through the gate) for 175 yards and on the topmost crags you’ll see a telegraph pole.  The cup-and-ring stone is right next to it!

Archaeology & History

The first and only reference to this stone followed its rediscovery by George Currie (2011) in one of his many bimbling forays seeking out these old carvings.  He told, in his usual minimalist manner that,

“A stretch of bedrock adjacent to a telegraph pole on a terrace above Balimeanach farmhouse bears thirteen cup marks, at least two of which have single rings, including the largest at 70 x 25mm.”

Line of cup-and-rings
View from above

The two cup-and-rings are next to each other on the northen side of the stone, with one based on a small concave depression in the rock itself; but next to this is what seems to be another, third and very faint incomplete cup-and-ring (you can see it in some of the photos here).  We walked round and round this and whilst it seems quite obvious, some elements of it appear to be based on natural cracks in the stone, accentuated with minimal pecking by the artist.  These three cup-and-rings are next to each other in a veritable Orion’s Belt formation, with a single cup hanging down from the middle.

Carving, looking south
Looking across the design

The other main section of the carving consists of a series of plain cups, scattered in a typically chaotic form and clustering mainly round the centre of the stone; whilst on its southern tip a single cup sits quietly.

When we peeled the turf back to see the entire carving, we found there was a considerable scatter of broken quartz all along the western edge of the stone.  This element was also found at the Balimeanach (2) carving less than ten yards away and we’ve found this at a number of other petroglyphs in Perthshire and beyond.  Even more intriguing was a large carved stone spearhead covered in soil alongside the quartz scatter!  We left this where we found it.

In all probability, there are other carvings that remain undiscovered beneath the turf all along this ridge.  Get y’ gardening gloves out!

References:

  1. Currie, George, “Comrie: Balimeanach (BC 3), Cup-marked Rock”, in Discovery & Excavation Scotland, New series – volume 12, 2011.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Balimeanach (2), Loch Earn, Comrie, Perthshire

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Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 64118 22892

Archaeology & History

Faint cups, bottom right

Less than ten yards south of the Balimeanach (3) petroglyph, this innocuous-looking cup-marked stone can be seen.  Paul Hornby and I came across it when looking for the adjacent carving.  Comprising of between three and five very faint shallow cups, when we peeled some of the turf over we found a broken hand axe resting on the rock itself.  We assumed that this had been the instrument that had been used to knock the cups into being.  There were also many small shards of quartz crystal all along the inner edge of the stone: a feature that we and others have found at quite a number of carvings in the Scottish mountains.  We left the ruined hand axe where we found it.

4? faint cups in a square

The impression we got here is that the cups are so shallow because the design was never actually completed.  Instead, perhaps, they turned to look at the stone ten yards away and thought it was a better choice to cut a more ornate design… Perhaps… It seems pretty likely that other unrecorded carvings will be found close by on the many turf-covered rocks in this area.

Acknowledgements:  Huge thanks to Paul Hornby for use of his photo in this site profile. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Tarras Water, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost):  OS Grid Reference – NY 3851 8149

Archaeology & History

A petroglyph that was rediscovered as recently as 2003, by J. Ward, has, it would seem, already been lost.  In all likelihood it has become hidden beneath vegetation.  Found near the Petrifying Well, the carving is archetypal, consisting of a single cup surrounded by two rings, on a low flat piece of rock on the south-side of the Tarras burn, only a few hundred yards above the road.  I’ve added the site here in the hope that a diligent petroglyph hunter can find it again and leave it open to the elements for us all to see.  Let us know if you find it.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Over Glenny (13), Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 57047 02878

Getting Here

Over Glenny (13) section with ‘bowl’

Along the A81 road from Port of Menteith to Aberfoyle, watch out for the small road in the trees running at an angle sharply uphill, nearly opposite Portend, up to Coldon and higher. Keep going, bearing right past Mondowie and stopping at the dirt-track 100 yards or so further up on the left (ignore the english fuckers up here who tell you it’s a pwivate road and they don’t want you parking there—unless you’re blocking the road obviously!).  Walk up up here for ⅔-mile, as if you’re visiting the Over Glenny (5) carving, but as you get close to the defining sycamore tree, walk past it for about 60 yards towards the ruinous buildings. You’re looking for a reasonably large earthfast rock with a notable bowl about 12-inch across at the edge of the stone.  That’s your defining feature.

Archaeology & History

Arty sketch of the design

This is another decent design in the mass of petroglyphs on this plain overlooking the Lake of Menteith.  On our first visit here ten yeas ago, only one half of the rock was visible—and half of that was covered with grasses!  But with patience, we slowly rolled back the turf and slowly uncovered more and more, eventually seeing the main elements you can see in these photos and the arty sketch I’ve made here. (the Over Glenny [14] carving a few yards further east may be just be a continuation of this design)

Full length of the stone
The triple cup-and-ring

When the carving was first noticed by George Currie (2010), he only noticed “a cup mark surrounded by two penannulars, an arc and a single radial”—ostensibly meaning, a cup-and-triple ring, with the outer ring incomplete, and a line running out from the central cup.  But there’s more, obviously.  On our second visit, a very faint but distinct cup-and-double-ring was noticed in low light on the same section of the rock where the triple-ringed element is carved.  We weren’t able to get a photo that showed it, as the light wasn’t doing as we needed, but I’ve highlighted it on the sketch, where it’s to the right of the large ‘bowl’ at the very edge of the rock.  This ‘bowl’ probably had utilitarian functions, whether it was for just crushing herbs or grains, or to make organic paints: and this function most likely had some relationship with the petroglyph—but we know not what!  It’s possible that the people who lived in the adjacent ruin, several centuries ago, may also have made use of this.

East-end of the design
East-end angular pose

When we exposed the other half of the carving, a very well-cut and well-preserved cup-and-ring sat beside another much more eroded partner, which was almost impossible to see from some angles. You can just make it out in the photos here.  You’ll also notice a scatter of several other cup-marks and elongated ‘cups’ on the same section of rock.  It was difficult to work out whether some of these marks in the stone were Nature’s handiwork, or the result of human hands.  Some were obviously man-made, but we need to look at it again when the daylight conditions are good, so that we can make a more accurate assessment.

References:

  1. Brouwer, Jan & van Veen, Gus, Rock Art in the Menteith Hills, BRAC 2009.
  2. Currie, George, “Port of Menteith: Upper Glenny (UG 1), Cup-and-Ring Marked Rocks”, in Discovery & Excavation, Scotland, New Series – volume 11, 2010.

Acknowledgements:  Huge thanks to the crew: Paul Hornby, Lisa Samson & Fraser Harrick in making this carving come to life, and for use of a photo or two. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Balnabroich, Kirkmichael, Perthshire

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Cairn:  OS Grid Reference – NO 1008 5695

Getting Here

Balnabroich cairn

From Kirkmichael village take the A94 road 2 miles south to the Balnabroich standing stone and another 100 yards past it, on the left (east) take the dirt-track uphill, following the directions to reach the Balnabroich hut circles. You’ll see the large prehistoric rock pile of the Grey Cairn on the near skyline just above the huts and roughly on the same level, 50 yards away to the south, you’ll see this scruffy lumpy dump of a cairn, all overgrown.

Archaeology & History

The cairn, looking S

Amidst the veritable scatter of a thousand clearance cairns (yes, that’s the estimate), there are a few up here that had more funerary functions than the rest.  This being one of them.  When Allan Stewart (1795) wrote about them all in the Statistical Account, he couldn’t have missed this one—and yet he made no mention of it.  We had to wait another seventy years before the outside world became aware of its existence.  Then, along with “a band of between twenty and thirty workmen,” John Stuart (1865) set out to see what lay beneath the rocky pile.  In truth, much more attention was given to the huge Gray Cairn close by (understandably so), but at least some attention was given here.  Stuart described this cairn as,

“about 9 yards across, defined by large boulders, with a raised ridge around, and a cup in the centre. The raised ridges and centre were all formed of small stones and earth. A trench was cut through it from the southeast, which showed that in the centre, at a depth of 2 feet, a deposit had been made, of which the remains were charred wood and fragments of charred bone, with traces of blackish matter, which had filtered into the yellow subsoil, as in the case of the graves at Hartlaw.’ Many fragments of white quartz pebbles appeared near the centre, as in other cairns to the east.”

Indeed, at least one of the “cairns to the east” is made entirely of quartz stones!  Since Mr Stuart’s dig into the tomb, it has widened out slightly as rummaging cattle and other damage has been inflicted, and the grasses have coloured the tomb with their life.  Check it out when you’re up here!

References:

  1. MacLagan, Christian, The Hill Forts, Stone Circles and other Structural Remains of Ancient Scotland, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1875.
  2. Ramsay, John S., Highways and Byways of Strathmore and the Northern Glens, Blairgowrie Advertiser 1927.
  3. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, North-East Perth: An Archaeological Landscape, HMSO: Edinburgh 1990.
  4. Stewart, Allan, “Parish of Kirkmichael,” in Statistical Account of Scotland – volume 15, 1795.
  5. Stuart, John, “Account of Excavations in Groups of Cairns, Stone Circles and Hut Circles on Balnabroch, Parish of Kirkmichael, Perthshire,” in Proceedings Society Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 6, 1865.

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. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

God’s Well, Arkesden, Essex

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Sacred Well:  OS Grid Reference – TL 467 356

Archaeology & History

Located in the copse known as Godwell’s Grove on the western boundary of Arkesden, there are good grounds for thinking this was a sacred well: not necessarily relating to the christian God, but what A.H. Smith (1956) described simply as, from the old English, “a (heathen) god.”  Another site of the same name is found in Wiltshire.  In the local survey by Parish (2010), he told that “its name suggests it is a holy well.”

In Reaney’s (1976) survey on English place-names, he looks at a number of places where the element “god” is found and explores the notion of them recording a personal name, Gode.  This is evident of course, but he stated that,

“it would indeed be a remarkable coincidence if all these names…were to contain the personal-name Gode, a short form of Godric, Godwine, etc.  It in inconceivable that the reference should be to the christian deity… All are situated in areas of early settlement where heathen place-names might be expected and may well contain OE god, ‘a god’.”

There is no longer any trace of the well.

References:

  1. Parish, R.B., Holy Wells and Healing Springs of Essex, Pixyled Press: Nottingham 2010.
  2. Reaney, P.H., The Place-Names of Essex, Cambridge University Press 1935.
  3. Reaney, P.H., The Origin of English Place-Names, RKP: London 1976.
  4. Smith, A.H., English Place-Name Elements – volume 1, Cambridge University Press 1956.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Black Park (3), Callander, Perthshire

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Cairn:  OS Grid Reference – NN 66885 07447

Getting Here

Low-lying Black Park (3)

From Callander head east along the main A84 road and nearly 300 yards past the entrance to the Keltie Bridge caravan park, take the tiny road on your left (north) and barely 100 yards along turn right and go up here for exactly 1 mile.  Walk up the track from here and follow the directions to find the Black Park (1) cairn; and then the nearby small Black Park (2) cairn.  From here you need to walk north-east round the small rounded hillock in front of you, and cross a small burn (stream) up to the next small grassy rise.  Altogether this is about 200 yards from the Black Park (2) cairn.  On this grassy rise lives the Black Park (3) cairn!

Archaeology & History

As with its compatriot Black Park (2) cairn 200 yards southwest, this can be hard to see.  It’s an overgrown small singular cairn (it looks like a tumulus now) of no great note to look at: probably the resting spot of an individual or just a small family.  Measuring some 5-6 yards across and less than a yard high at the most, its easily missed unless you’re really mean to find it. More impressive are the ones on the hill immediately above you to the east.  Head there next!

References:

  1. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, Braes of Doune: An Archaeological Survey, RCAHMS: Edinburgh 1994.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Robin Hood’s Well, Erdington, Warwickshire

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Sacred Well (lost):  OS Grid Reference – SP 13 92

Archaeology & History

Robin Hood wells are numerous in Yorkshire and Derbyshire, but finding them in this neck o’ the woods is unusual (a Robin Hood’s Farm can be found nearly 14 miles south).  The waters here would have had obvious importance for local peasant folk in bygone centuries, perhaps with scatterings of Beltane and Midsummer rites hereby; but it seems that records are silent on such matters.  The only reference I can find of this place is in Bracken’s (1860) fascinating work on Sutton Coldfield, where he told that,

“At the extremity of the parish, near Pype, a little field is still called the Bowbearer’s Croft.  Tradition says two officers of the chase, bowbearers, had a lodge there; and that their duty was to guide the travellers across the wild country.  A very old cottage, that had been well built, was removed from the croft in 1828.  In that neighbourhood was a fountain, called Robin Hood’s well, now enclosed within the grounds of Penns, where the natural beauties of the situation have been judiciously displayed and improved by the taste of the late proprietor, Joseph Webster.”

Marshy ground to the east of Pype Hall fed the large pond, which is one contender for the site of this lost well.  What has become of it?  A search in the local library archives for any old manorial maps, or the field-name maps showing Bowbearer’s would prove truly helpful in relocating this site.

References:

  1. Bracken, L., History of the Forest and Chase of Sutton Coldfield, Simpkin Marshall: London 1860.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Druid’s Well, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire

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Sacred Well:  OS Grid Reference – SP 10162 97991

Also Known as:

  1. St. Mary’s Well

Archaeology & History

Druid’s Well in 1910(-ish)

Highlighted on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map of the region and located beyond the far eastern end of Braceridge Lake, this legendary well has seen better days.  A small well-house once covered the spring, but all we have left today is little more than a rectangular stone-lined concrete hole-in-the-ground where the waters collect (hopefully some local folk can bring it back to life).  But in the 19th century it was well known, much frequented and maintained.

Not much seems to be known about its mythic history, as the traditions surrounding its dual pagan-christian dedication seem to have been forgotten.  When the local writer Tom Burgess (1893) came to explore its history, he merely wrote:

“How it came to be called the Druids’ Well is not known, it is scarcely necessary to say that it can have no Druidical connection; it is very probable, however, that it was dedicated to Saint Mary long before the dam of Bracebridge Pool was made by Ralph Bracebridge in the reign of Henry V.”

Druids Well in 1917
Druid’s Well in 1932

Jeremy Harte (2008) suggested that this well’s druidic association may have come from a local man, William Hutton who, in the middle of the 18th century, “speculated on a druid sanctuary near Sutton Coldfield.”  But before Hutton, the 17th century Staffordshire topographer, Robert Plot, suggested that an arch-druid held residence on Barr Beacon, which is less than three miles west of here.  This idea was echoed by Midgley (1904) who told that Barr Beacon “is supposed to have been a Druidical shrine.”  Just over three miles to the northwest, the Druid’s Heath (a place-name derived, apparently, from an old family) at Aldridge also had its own array of folklore which, perhaps, may have had something to do with this well’s association.  When Roy Palmer (1976) wrote about the Druid’s Well in his folklore survey, he told that Sutton Coldfield,

“is said once to have been the seat of the arch-druid of Britain; perhaps this was his well, which was later christianized.”

So much to choose from…

References:

  1. Bord, Janet, Holy Wells in Britain – A Guide, HOAP: Wymeswold 2008.
  2. Bracken, L., History of the Forest and Chase of Sutton Coldfield, Simpkin Marshall: London 1860.
  3. Burgess, J.T., Historic Warwickshire, Simpkin Marshall: Lond 1893.
  4. Harte, Jeremy, English Holy Wells – volume 2, Heart of Albion press: Wymeswold 2008.
  5. Midgley, W., A Short History of the Town and Chase of Suton Coldfield, Midland Counties Herald: Birmingham 1904.
  6. Palmer, Roy, The Folklore of Warwickshire, Batsford: London 1976.

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. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Market Cross, Elstow, Bedfordshire

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Cross:  OS Grid Reference – TL 04864 47498

Archaeology & History

Elstow’s old cross, c.1900

Sitting quietly “on the village green, where the fair is still held,” wrote Wigram (1885), “stands the base of the old market-cross, reduced to a shapeless stump, but still bearing traces of leaden setting.”  Thought to be mediaeval in age, it was described as a sundial on some of the early Ordnance Survey maps which, perhaps, it may have been used as for a short period (although records are silent on the matter).  Standing just three-feet tall, this old stone pillar still lives on its ancient spot, as quiet as always, keeping itself to itself…

References:

  1. Wigram, S.R., Chronicles of the Abbey of Elstow, Parker & Co.: Oxford 1885.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian