The Rollright Stones
*This page is dedicated
to the memory of my dear friend Pauline Flick - Thank you Pauline
for everything - God Bless*
The Rollright Stones
- The Stonehenge of Oxfordshire as taken from the title of a 1907
publication by Henry W. Taunt is a strange but interesting comment.
Whilst it is of a similar diameter to the main circle at Stonehenge,
that is pretty much where the similarity ends.
Situated on a high
ridge separating the counties of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire,
the Stones, a worn and weathered local Oolitic limestone, are
arranged in an almost exact circle. As to the numbers that is
difficult to say, a legend says that it is impossible to count
the same amount of stones three times in a row - have a go and
see what I mean.
The site not only consists
of a stone circle, but also associated with the complex is a standing
stone over the road in Warwickshire called the King Stone - close
to an unexcavated Bronze Age barrow, and a collection of stones
- the remains of a burial chamber called the Whispering Knights.
..........
The Whispering Knight
& The King Stone
The stones themselves
were formally exposed directly to the main road, but in the not
too distant past trees were planted, and later a hedge was put
up to separate them from the road. This does create a quiet and
segregated area where one can now enjoy the site, without the
distraction of passing traffic. The site is now owned by a group
of individuals who purchased the site from the former owner Pauline
Flick. Pauline looked after these stones for most of her life
until contracting cancer when she decided to sell the site, as
she was unable to look after them herself. Pauline passed away
a few years ago know, but it was down to her that this site remained
a site that could be accessed and used by the people, though god
help anyone who tried to get out of order.
Pauline's attitude
to the stones gave me a great opportunity to help act as door
man and guardian for many weekends. I would collect the nominal
fee - 20p at the time, and also provide literature, answer questions,
and assist in details regarding history, geology, folklore, lay
lines, dowsing, - the list goes on. You sure met an incredible
cross section of people over a weekend.
The site is still very
special to me, the site is powerful, and warm. Dowsing is very
interesting as there are several intersecting lines of force,
I won't tell you where they are, but have a go you will be amazed
at what you get.
I have attached a few
images to try and give you a feel for this great site, and it
is well worth a visit.
Sun Rise at the Summer
Solstice as viewed from the King Stone.
The Harmonic Convergence
ceremony at the Rollright Stones.
The Dragon Project
- Meditation - Dowsing
The Rollright Stones
in winter - still an incredible place.
One of the most recent
changes to the stone circle was when a previously burnt stone
was found to be cracked. This meant the actual stone had to be
excavated out, and both sections joined back together and then
replaced. The excavation was carried out by George Lambrick of
the Oxford Archaeological Unit, under funding from English Heritage.
I was lucky in the fact that I was camping at the site for the
week of the excavation, and having acted as overnight security
was allowed some time to get involved in the excavation - closely
supervised by George. I will always be grateful for that George,
much appreciated. Trying to separate soil layers was quite a challenge.
It was great to see the process in action, 'Kev The Dig' or what
<g> - Time Team wasn't around then!
Broken Stone - Missing
Stone - Erected Stone
*Also note it is now
sitting lower than before - in its correct position.
I was also present
at the re-erection of the stone, and had brought some coins with
the date of the present year to be included under the stone in
a plastic bag. This was in case in the future other excavations
took place, and therefore people would know something had taken
place earlier. We did find the remains of an Eley 410 Shotgun
case in this excavation, and also found that the stone had been
re-erected in the wrong position as it did not sit in its original
stone hole. This suggested it was one of the stones put up by
Miss Bliss the century before.
Well I hope that has
given you a flavour of my favourite site. It's still only pence
to get in. Why not pay it a visit, and maybe discover some of
your ancient powers lying dormant in you all those years. You
never know until you try!
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