Grey Stone, Newsholme Dean, Oakworth, West Yorkshire

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 00621 40841

Also Known as:

  1. Carving no.2 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Grey Stone, Newsholme Dean
Grey Stone, Newsholme Dean

Take the same directions as if you’re visiting the Cob Stone Field carving; but instead of going into the field on your right, walk down the track about 100 yards towards the large barn below.  As you walk down keep your eyes peeled to the field on your left and, right up against the wall of the barn, you’ll see a large boulder resting quietly. That’s what yer after!

Archaeology & History

This large faded cup-marked rock whose western side has been split off in recent years, has a scatter of “up to 21 small shallow worn cups” on its upper surface.  They can be difficult to see in some light, but they’re definitely there (as Ray Spencer’s photos clearly show), fading slowly into Nature’s winds and storms.  A couple of ‘lines’ running down the edge of the stone are  due to modern farm-workings.

Close-up of the cups
Close-up of the cups
Sketch of the design
Sketch of the design

Several other rocks in this and adjacent fields have what may be faded remains of other cup-markings, but without guidance from a geologist or a stone-mason, we can’t know for sure whether they’re authentic or not.  It’s likely that there are other authentic carvings hiding in this area—they just need sniffing out!

References:

  1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.

Acknowledgements:  Huge thanks to Ray Spencer for us of his photos in this site profile. Thanks Ray.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian