Tag: Standing Stones

Craigneich Farm, Muthill, Perthshire

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Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 79225 17870

Also Known as:

  1. Blar an Rodhar
  2. Blarinroar

Getting Here

Craigneich standing stone, looking west

From Comrie town centre take the road south across Dalginross Bridge over the river, heading towards Braco, up the winding B827 road for 2-3 miles until you reach a small crossroads (you can easily miss it, so watch out!). Turn left and, about a mile on, keep your eyes peeled – either for the standing stone in the field on your left, or the dirt-track to Craigneich Farm 100 yards further on.

Archaeology & History

…and again, looking east

This is a large standing stone in a truly beautiful setting.  More than six-feet tall, it stands amidst a gorgeous atmosphere just off the quiet roadside and has been all-but neglected by most archaeological surveys.  Thankfully it was one of the many impressive monoliths in this district that was described in one Fred Coles’ (1911) fine surveys.  Described in conjunction with the even more massive standing stones on the slopes to the south, he told:

“This Stone is one mile and a furlong SSE of the last, on the north side of the road between Straid and Shillinghill, at 514 feet above sea-level. The locality lies to the north of Aodan Mohr, which is the name given to the upper portion of Dunruchan. .. Its base is of an extremely irregular four-sided shape, having a jutting-out ledge on the south (see drawing). In basal girth it measures 15 feet 9 inches, and in height 6 feet 4 inches. The longest axis points N. 33° E.. by S. 33° W .”

Craigneich stone (Coles 1911)

Others may have once stood in close attendance, as the Chronicles of Strathearn (1896) tells how at Blarinroar (the name of the fields here) there were standing stones twenty feet tall! Cole thinks this to be an error based on the megaliths of Dunruchan, half-a-mile to the south. On the other side of the road from here, in the hedgerow, lies a fallen stone covered in ages of moss.

The now singular upright has been linked, albeit tentatively, to the Dunruchan megaliths as part of a possible stone row (Burl 1993; Thom 1990), but this seems very unlikely.

In Edward Peterson’s (1996) survey of Pictish monuments, he thought the Craigneich stone may have been important to the Seal tribe in ages gone by, as he says there are some Pictish carvings on the stone:

“The heads of two seals are relatively clear, positioned near the centre of this stone. Not so clear is the head of a cat at the top right hand corner, and to the immediate left is another seal head.  These are only a few of the animal heads appearing on this sea/seal-god standing stone.”

More antiquarian research is obviously required here.  It’s a truly superb spot!

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Cole, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hunter, John, Chronicles of Strathearn, David Phillips: Crieff 1896.
  5. Peterson, Edward, The Message of Scotland’s Symbol Stones, PCD Ruthven Books: Aberuthven 1996.
  6. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Caisteal Samhraidh, Glen Lochay, Killin, Perthshire

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Standing Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 519 380

Getting Here

Caisteal Samhraidh stone, looking west down Glen Lochay

Go halfway down Glen Lochay to Dalgirdy house by the cattle-grid, then go up the burn by its side and follow the directions to reach the small standing stone above the shielings of Allt Ghoaordaidh. From here, head east, keeping to roughly the same contour line as you walk along. About half-a-mile on, keep your eyes peeled. If you’re into ambling off-track up mountains, you’ll find it. If you’re not into such things, you could be in trouble!

Archaeology & History

Caisteal Samhraidh stone, looking east to Duncroisk

There are no previous literary references to this standing stone, leaning at an angle, halfway up the southern slope of Mheall Ghaordie. Between 3-4 feet tall, the monolith appears to have had packing stones around it, although when I stumbled across it in a lengthy amble a few weeks ago, the daytime temperature was above 100° F and I’d been out all day with no food, so my investigative faculties weren’t at their best! The stone may have been part of some ancient walling along the edge of the mountain, but if so, it wasn’t obvious. A few yards higher up the slope, a very large overgrown heap of rocks seemed evident – but again, I wasn’t sure whether this was artificial or geological. All along this mountain and up the curve of Allt Ghoaordaidh to the west are such immense clusters of ancient rocks and boulders, that the mound behind here just seemed to merge into the background of all the rest.

Looking SE down Glen Lochay

The ruined Iron Age enclosure of Tullich is less than half-a-mile south of here, and the possible prehistoric standing stones of Tirai another half-mile to the east. Prehistoric rock art scatters the glen east of here and masses of ancient walled structures run up and down hidden ridges and slopes. There is in fact scattered an excess of archaeological remains all along the edges of this long valley, indicating considerable human population in bygone centuries (before the Clearances came) reaching way back into prehistoric times. The old people of Glen Lochay would have been able to furnish us with a mass of important historical tales and myth about so many now-forgotten places, before the carnage of the agriculturalists and capitalists destroyed their way of life. This standing stone, no doubt, would have had tales said of it. Today, only the spirits of the glen are able to whisper such insights…

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Breadalbane

Gleneagles ‘A’, Blackford, Perthshire

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Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 9211 0962

Also Known as:

  1. Blackford
  2. Loaninghead
  3. Peterhead Farm

Getting Here

Monolith nr Peterhead Fm

Along the A9 dual carriageway between Blackford and Auchterarder, take the A823 road south, up the Glen Eagles road as if you’re heading towards Pool of Muckhart and Dunfermline.  Less than 100 yards up the road, turn immediately right and go past the standing stone of Gleneagles B for a coupla hundred yards or so, where there’s a left turn (down to Peterhead Farm).  Stop here and look into the field in front of you.  You can’t really miss it!

Archaeology & History

Gleneagles ‘A’, gazing west

This short standing stone, more than 3ft tall, has an elegance about it which megalith lovers alone will understand!  Maybe it’s the setting; maybe the feel of the land; or maybe something else.  I dunno… On my first visit to the site, Nature was wearing a grey overcast cloak, but the site and I didn’t seem to care; and although the view from here doesn’t have the same grandeur of Glen Eagles to view as its companion stone a few hundred yards to the east might have, there felt a greater welcoming at this smaller stone.  Odd, considering this monolith had been knocked over and re-positioned by the farmer in the not-too-distant past.  Anyway…less of this subjective nonsense of feelings from the landscape and megaliths!  Utter drivel all of it!

The earliest measured account of the stone is to be found in Mr Hutchison’s (1893) essay, where he notes this and its companion close by, giving us the dimensions of this monolith:

“This (stone) is roughly columnar in shape, but wider at the base than above. Its height is 3ft above ground; circumference at base 6ft. 5in., diminishing to 4ft. 2in at the top. It is of metamorphic schist.  The line of direction between these two gives a horizontal angle of 260°.”

Since that day, in the mass of archaeology essays that have been scribed, this smoothed upright gets only a minimal description.  Charles Calder’s (1947) account is typical, saying simply that it is,

“Somewhat cylindrical in form with a girth of 7 feet at the base, it rises with a decided tilt towards the west to a height of 3 feet 10 inches above ground-level.”

The stone fares better in Andrew Finlayson’s (2010) fine local survey of megalithic ruins, where he points out that this and its compatriot stone Gleneagles B, are in an alignment with the fallen Boat Stone and the upright White Stone, a few miles to the southwest.  This line works on 1:50,000 map, but when transferred to larger-scale surveys, the alignment misses each outlying site by 20-30 yards here and there.

References:

  1. Calder, Charles S.T., “Notice of Two Standing Stones (one with Pictish Symbols) on the Lands of Peterhead Farm, near Gleneagles, Perthshire,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 81, 1947.
  2. Feachem, Richard, Guide to Prehistoric Scotland, Batsford 1977.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hutchison, A.F., “The Standing Stones of Stirling District,” in The Stirling Antiquary, volume 1, 1893.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Craggish, Comrie, Perthshire

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Standing Stones (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NN 7643 2086

Archaeology & History

Site shown on 1886 OS-map

Highlighted on the 1866 OS-map was an impressive cluster of standing stones that sadly met their demise sometime around at the end of the 19th century.  They were mentioned to “still exist” when the local writer Samuel Carment passed them in 1882, but had been destroyed by the time the Ordnance Survey lads resurveyed here in 1899.  Altogether there were at least six of them, standing aligned sharply northeast-southwest and were described in one of Fred Coles’ (1911) essays, who lamented their passing.  Listed in the stone row surveys by Burl (1993) and Thom (1990), the prime description we have of them was by Cole himself, who told:

“This site has also been wantonly bereft of its group of megaliths.  Up to so recent a date as 1891 there were several.  These were shown on the (Ordnance Survey map) as three in one line and two in another, on a field about one furlong NE of Craggish farmhouse, close to the road coming down from Ross, and nearly a quarter-mile NW of the ford across the Ruchil at Ruchilside.”

In Finlayson’s (2010) colourful survey of the local megaliths he told that the stones,

“Stood, by the road, in what is now ‘The Whinney Strip’: a boulder-strewn strip of land 20m wide dividing up otherwise flat and even grazing land.”

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Cole, Fred, “Report on Stone Circles Surveyed in Perthshire, Principally Strathearn,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 45, 1911.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, Aubrey, Stone Rows and Standing Stones – 2 volumes, BAR: Oxford 1990.

Acknowledgments:  Big thanks for use of the early edition OS-map in this site profile, Reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Bull Stone, Crook of Devon, Kinross-shire

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Legendary Rock:  OS Grid Reference – NT 03326 99712

Getting Here

The Bull Stone rock, looking west

In the lovely village that is the Crook of Devon, go down Church Lane, past the houses, until you meet with the dirt-track on your left that runs straight up beneath a grove of trees heading into the green fields.  Go up here 100 yards until you meet another track that goes sharp left.  Just here, 10 yards along, a solitary tree sits by the wall; and just past it is a large boulder up against the walling.  This is the Bull Stone!

Archaeology & History

Bull Stone, Crook of Devon

If you didn’t know owt about this place, you wouldn’t even give it a second-thought.  A decent-sized rock, obviously broken-up and then plastered back together again, is innocuously resting up against the wall.  But it appears to have had some significance in bygone centuries, although its full story has yet to be recovered.  It was described in the Royal Commission (1933) report for antiquities, where they told:

“Built against the dike on the north side of an old roadway, half a mile to the south of Crook of Devon, is a huge sandstone boulder known as ‘The Bull Stone.’  It is probably an old boundary mark or, like the Leslie Stone…it may have some association with the old-time pastime of bull-baiting.  The stone was broken up a number of years ago, and the fragments were carted away to be built up in another dike hard by, but, in response to public agitation, they were returned to the original site and cemented together.  The boulder rises 3½ feet above ground and has a girth of about 13 feet at the base.  It is not set up vertically, but lies on its side.”

It may originally have been a standing stone as local lore tells that it once stood as high as a grown man, but is now only half that size.  It may have been one of the meeting places of the legendary witches at the Crook of Devon, but this is guesswork on my behalf (so best ignored!).

References:

  1. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, HMSO: Edinburgh 1933.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Glenhead Stone Row, Doune, Stirlingshire

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Standing Stones: OS Grid Reference – NN 75491 00455

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 24689

Getting Here

Take the B824 road that runs between Dunblane and Doune and, whichever direction you’re coming from, watch out for the large statue of David Stirling by the roadside (y’ can’t really miss it!).  Stop here. Then, walk along the dirt-track into the field by the side of the statue, keeping your eyes peeled 50 yards along, for the upright stones in the field on your right, at the top of the brow of the hill.

Archaeology & History

Glenhead Farm standing stones
Glenhead Farm standing stones

A few hundred yards south of the large Glenhead Standing Stone, we come across this curious small row of three reasonably large standing stones which — the more you look at them — give the distinct impression that they may be the remains of a large prehistoric tomb.  But archaeology records are silent on this matter and we must contend with what we can see.  At the northernmost end of the row, a fourth stone lays amongst the vegetation: it may have once stood alone, or maybe  been snapped from  its fellow monolith.  20 yards south is a large mass of stone; perhaps from an old building, perhaps cairn spoil (does anyone know?)

The local historian Moray Mackay (1984) thought that the line of stones here were once a part of something larger, saying:

“Originally it was probably a circle of six stones, with a seventh in the middle, and this central stone can still be identified by its flat top on which are the mysterious and well known cup-marks, much weathered but plainly visible.  Close to the site, urns and stone hammers were unearthed last century.”

Glenhead stone row, looking north

Of the three remaining upright stones, it is the central one which has the cup-markings visible on its top and side (Allen 1882), with a lovely covering of almost luminous lichen giving it extra effect! (a separate TNA Site Entry for the cup-marked stone will be written in due course)

The famous astroarchaeologist Alexander Thom and his son (1990) described the place as,

“A three stone alignment showing about 33° N declination in one direction and 31° S in the other, but the azimuth comes from the stones only and so cannot be accurate. Perhaps the line is lunar to the hill in the SW…”

In Thom’s (1967) earlier work he posited that the alignment may relate to the rising of the star Capella around 1760 BC, but this is untrue. Thom’s error however, was not of his making, but due to the false dates that archaeologists ascribed to megalithic ruins at the time – dates which Thom used in his research, believing that the archaeological fraternity would know what they were talking about!  In their collaborated text, Aubrey Burl added how,

“these stones stand on a hill summit at 360ft (110m) OD. The row is on a north-facing slope. Three stones stand. A fourth, prostrate, 6ft 6 in (2m) long, lies against the NE pillar. The row has a NNE-SSW axis. The northernmost stone is 3ft 6in high, the centre 4ft, and the SSW, characteristically the tallest, 6ft 6in… The line is about 27 feet (8.3m) long. The central stone has 23 cupmarks on its top and 4 more on its western side.”

…to be continued…

References:

  1. Allen, J. Romilly, “Notes on some Undescribed Stones with some Cup-Markings in Scotland,” in PSAS 16, 1882.
  2. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  3. Mackay, Moray S., Doune: Historical Notes, Forth Naturalist: Stirling 1984.
  4. Thom, Alexander, Megalithic Sites in Britain, Oxford University Press 1967.
  5. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, A., Stone Rows and Standing Stones – volume 2, BAR Oxford 1990.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Glenhead Standing Stone, Doune, Perthshire

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Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 7552 0103

Getting Here

The huge Glenhead stone

Take the A820 road from Dunblane to Doune.  About a mile west of the motorway, keep your eyes peeled for where the small road on your right is signposted to Argaty and Kilbryde.  Stop here and walk up the footpath on the left-hand side of the road.  A couple of hundred yards up, take the right turn on the track and where the small copse of trees is, go through the gateway, keeping yourself to the left edge of the trees running parallel to the field.  About 100 yards or so up, you can’t miss him!

Archaeology & History

Quite a huge fella this one!  Standing more than 6 feet high, the monolith is nearly as broad, giving an impression of great size to the old stone.  The stone’s nature and date is troublesome: although ostensibly labelled as Bronze Age, alongside the walling which runs down from here we see a great number of other large stones, some of which give the distinct impression of being length of Iron Age walling — but without excavation, its nature remains a puzzle.  The monolith stands close to being on top of a rise in the land, which geomancers understand as being important sites of spirit, or places where the dead were rested — but we have no record of any tombs here, so are left with the options of walling or a spirit site.

…and from another angle

On its east-face, the stone has a number of what appear to be curious large cup-markings, but they appear to be little more than the effect of weathering and erosion.  There’s also a solid piece of long metal sticking out of the same side, which was obviously done by someone in recent centuries — so maybe a local farmer and his mates stood this one up?  Or they were planning on using it as a gatepost…

The site is well worth looking at, best in the winter months when access is easier.  It has the feel of other sites close by, hidden from the record books, though probably long gone.

References:

  1. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments Scotland, Stirling – 2 volumes, HMSO: Edinburgh 1963.
  2. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Stirling District, Central Region, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 1979.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Allt Ghaordaidh, Glen Lochay, Killin, Perthshire

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Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 5101 3807

Getting Here

Allt Ghaordaidh, looking north

One helluva climb to reach this little fella.  I simply started at Dalgirdy cottage, some 5 miles along Glen Lochay, on the right-hand side of the road.  Then, walk right up the burnside, all the way up until it begins to level out and the old shielings appear.  When you’ve got to where they just about finish, about 50-70 yards on the east side of the burn, you’ll see the small stone standing upright, all alone. You can’t really miss it!

Archaeology & History

Allt Ghaordaidh, looking south-ish!

No previous written records exist that describe this small standing stone, whose nature and age may be akin to that at nearby Tirai, found amidst the derelict village a couple of miles east, lower down the slopes — i.e., it may have simply been part of some of the ancient village remains and shielings found close by, either side of the rushing burn.  But whether it’s only medieval or much more ancient than that, its position in the landscape alone (much like Tirai’s uprights), deserves to be known about.

There are considerable amounts of ancient remains scattering the mountains slopes all round here: some have been catalogued, but a lot of it has not.  This little standing stone is at last alive again! (take good food and kit when visiting here)

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Acrehowe Cross, Baildon Moor, West Yorkshire

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Cross (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – SE 14390 40601

Also Known as:

  1. Rerehowe Cross

Archaeology & History

‘Rerehowe’ cross on 1852 map

Once found on the other side of the road from the prehistoric circle of Acrehowe Hill, this old cross was destroyed sometime in the first half of the 19th century by one of the stewards to the Lady of the Manor of Baildon, a Mr Walker.  It’s unlikely that Mr Walker would have performed this act without direct orders from the Lady of the Manor, so the destruction should really be laid at the feet of the land-owner, who’ve got a habit of destroying archaeological sites up and down the land, even today.

Found near the crown of a small hill on the horizon whether you’re coming from Eldwick- or Baildon-side, the cross was erected (probably between the 12th and 14th centuries) amidst a cluster of heathen burials and cup-and-rings, many of which would have been known by local peasants as having old lore or superstitions about them.  So the church commandeered this spot, desacralized it and no doubt enacted profane rites around it under the auspice of some spurious christian law.  They did that sorta thing with every non-christian site they ever came across—or simply vandalised it, much as many of them still do today.  Sadly we know not the exact history of the old cross: whether it was an old standing stone on the crown of this hill which they defaced and made into a cross, or whether they erected their own monument, we’ll never know.  But the idea of a once-proud monolith standing here is a strong possibility, considering its position in the landscape and the stone rings of Pennythorn and Acrehowe close by (cup-and-ring stones such as carving no.184 are also close by).

The cross itself once gained an additional incorrect title by the cartographers of the period, who named it Rerehowe Cross—but this was simply a spelling mistake and its newly-found title didn’t last long. The local industrial historian William Cudworth (1876) described the lost cross in his large work, where he told that,

“many of the inhabitants can remember and point out the exact spot where it stood, and no doubt could find some of the stones of which it was composed. It was destroyed by one of the overseers and a large portion of it used for fence stones.”

Harry Speight (a.k.a. ‘Johnnie Gray’) and others also mentioned the passing of this old stone, but give no additional information.

Folklore

In William Cudworth’s description of this site he told how “the village tradition is that it was put up in commemoration of a great battle that was fought on the Moor” at Baildon; but W.P. Baildon (1913) thought this was unlikely.  Instead, he cited an 1848 Name Book reference dug out by W.E. Preston, which told that on the summit of Acrehowe Hill,

“Here stood a cross which, according to traditional evidence was erected at the period that markets were held at Baildon, in consequence of a plague which prevented the country people from visiting the village with provisions, etc.  The site of its base is very apparent, being circular, about 8 feet in diameter.  A large flag stone  with the stump of the cross remaining in its centre, was pulled up and destroyed by Mr Walker (Baildon Hall) a few years since.”

References:

  1. Baildon, W. Paley, Baildon and the Baildons (parts 1-15), St. Catherines: Adelphi 1913-26.
  2. Bennett, Paul, The Old Stones of Elmet, Capall Bann: Milverton 2001.
  3. Colls, J.M.N., ‘Letter upon some Early Remains Discovered in Yorkshire,’ in Archaeologia, volume 31, 1846.
  4. Cudworth, William, Round about Bradford, Thomas Brear: Bradford 1876.
  5. Gray, Johnnie, Through Airedale from Goole to Malham, Walker & Laycock: Leeds 1891.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian 


Jeffrey & Joan, Portesham, Dorset

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Standing Stones (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – SY 6070 8701

Also Known as:

  1. Jefferey and Jone

Archaeology & History

Described in early field-name listings as ‘Jefferey and Jone’, this was another group of standing stones, whose precise nature is difficult to truly discern, that met with an untimely end in the middle of the 19th century.  They may have been part of a large tomb, or even a stone circle.  Marked on the early Ordnance Survey map of the area as ‘Standing Stones (site of)’, they appear to have been described firstly by John Hutchins (1774) close to other megalithic remains, who told that:

“A little north of Hell Stone near Blagdon are four upright stones, near to, and equally distant from each other, about two feet high, except that one is broken off even with the ground.”

In Warne’s (1866) classic text he mentioned these petrified monoliths,

“In a small valley, on the down of Portesham Farm, there stood within these last ten years, four upright stones… By the direction of the then occupier of the farm, Mr Manfield, these stones were built into an adjoining wall.”

A few years later another account by H.C. March, which referred to Mr Warne’s description, gave another report citing information from one who was present at the destruction of the site:

“Warne says they have been built into an adjacent wall: but a man who was present at the ceremony stated that, by the spot where they once stood, a hole was made for them, and they were decently interred.  The place where they are said to lie can be pointed out, as well as a wall which contains four large stones.” (Harte 1986:54)

Historian and folklorist Jeremy Harte (1986) concluded that the megaliths must obviously have been destroyed around the year 1855.  However, the historical references of Jeffrey & Jone being moved into the adjacent walling appears to be verified by independent researchers who’ve found standing stones hereby.

Folklore

Very probably the remains of petrified ancestors, a curious rhyme describes a forgotten folktale of these lost standing stones relating to them as possessing spirit, or once being alive.  They were thought of once as being a family who lived in the hills:

“Jefferey and Jone,
And their little dog Denty
and Edy alone.”

Sadly, I can find nothing further that might enrich the folktales that were obviously once spoken of these monoliths.

References:

  1. Harte, Jeremy, Cuckoo Pounds and Singing Barrows, Dorset Natural History & Archaeological Society 1986.
  2. Hutchins, John, The History and Antiquities of Dorset, John Bowyer & J Nichols: London 1774.
  3. Warne, Charles, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset, John Russell Smith: London 1866.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian