MEGALITHS & STONE CIRCLES – ROLLING HARBOUR GALLERY

CROSS AND HAND, BATCOMBE, DORSET

Published on November 10, 2020 by Rolling Harbour2 Comments

Batcombe in the heart of Dorset is a hamlet of farms, cottages, and a tiny medieval church with a fine stone screen. It is also the name of the long hill ridge that rises steeply above it. This is green and flinty Hardy country. Close to the roadside that runs along the top of the ridge is a small battered stone pillar, fairly recently awarded a small protective enclosure by Dorset Council. The spectacular 180º views from this spot on a clear day stretch to the Mendips, the Quantocks, and as far as Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor.

Many sources now describe this Grade II listed pillar as the Cross and Hand (the hand is now completely erased). In Hardy’s ‘Tess’ and locally, this ‘stone shaft with a rough capital, possibly pre-Conquest’ (Pevsner) is known as the Cross-in-Hand.

The `strange rude monolith’, as Hardy describes it, is a pivotal location in his novel. It is here that Alec d’Urberville makes Tess swear on the stone (as if had profound religious significance) never to tempt him: “put your hand upon that stone hand, and swear that you will never tempt me by your charms or ways.” Later she asks a local shepherd “What is the meaning of that old stone I have passed? Was it ever a Holy Cross?” To which the devastating answer is: “Cross—no; ‘twer not a cross! ‘Tis a thing of ill-omen, Miss. It was put up in wuld times by the relations of a malefactor who was tortured there by nailing his hand to a post and afterwards hung. The bones lie underneath. They say he sold his soul to the devil, and that he walks at times.” Tess was, in the current meaning of an older phrase, ‘gaslighted’ (or maybe ‘gaslit’).

Cross-in-Hand (Cross and Hand) Batcombe Dorset — There was 70p in small change on the top when I took this photo, proving that some superstitions never die.

EXTRACT FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS

‘Wayside monolithic shaft, with necking and capital. Medieval. Stone monolith of oval form, crudely tapering. It is possible that this shaft belongs to the group of pre-conquest shafts of which the pillar of Eliseg (c6) is the best known; if so the capital must have been cut down. The hand said to have been carved on one face is not traceable.’ (RCHM) Scheduled Ancient Monument Dorset No. 137 / BLB

Additional notes: Ordnance Survey benchmark on the south side

HOOKNEY TOR & AN INFORMAL DARTMOOR LETTERBOX

Published on February 6, 2015March 28, 2017 by Rolling Harbour9 Comments

Hookney Tor is a windswept rocky outcrop on Dartmoor at 414m / 1358ft ASL. It watches over the Grimspound, an intriguing bronze-age circular enclosure with the remains of 24 houses, some inhabited until medieval times. It will have a post in its own right in due course. We investigated both with our granddaughter Berry last August during a short holiday together (grandparental treat!) on Dartmoor.

Hound Tor 12 Hound Tor 5

After exploring the Grimspound, there is no doubt about the next achievement to tackle: a steep stony path leads invitingly from the walls to the top of the Tor. As you climb, the Grimspound quickly gets smaller below you. Hound Tor 23 Hound Tor 26 Hound Tor 3

Berry was not the only wild creature on the moor… Hound Tor 22

AN EXCITING DISCOVERY THAT WAS DISAPPOINTING

As we climbed, we noticed that the rocks all around were embedded with fossils. Or so we believed. We took lots of photos of these amazing calcified creatures that by some strange process were to be found at nearly 1500ft. Only later, when we did a bit of research online, did we find out the disappointing truth: not fossils, but megacrysts. The technical explanation is as follows:

The main exposure at the Tor is of megacryst granite (also known as “Giant Granite” or “Big-Feldspar Granite”). It is probably from near the roof area of the batholith. The feldpars are of perthitic orthoclase that is porphyroblastic (later replacive crystals) in origin and not phenocrysts (large crystals that have developed in the magma). In some places the southwest England granite megacrysts have been seen to develop into aplite (fine-grained quartz-feldpar veins of late origin), which is possible for porphyroblasts (developing by replacement after the veins) but not for phenocrysts (early and which should be cut through by the veins).

Hound Tor, Dartmoor. Fossils? No, Megacrysts

A DISAPPOINTING DISCOVERY THAT WAS EXCITING

Tupperware at nearly 1500ft? The plastic rubbish left behind by some idle picnicker? But no… Berry spent some time exploring the crannies of the rockiest outcrops, and in the process made her next ‘Letterbox’ discovery… [The previous year’s find is HERE]

Hound Tor 6 Hound Tor 13 Hound Tor 20

Berry was not the first person to discover the box, which had been left by a girl from Surrey, with a message encouraging people to write in the notebook inside. This was already well-filled with the names, addresses, messages and drawings of previous explorers. There was also a strange mix of ‘souvenir’ items people had left – a car park ticket from Alton Towers, a ‘poppy day’ poppy, a couple of smoothed-out sweet wrappers, a button, and other such debris that walkers might find in their pockets… So Berry added a 1p coin, and added her contribution to the notebook. It may not have been an official Dartmoor Letterbox, but it was a lovely idea to have hidden it for others to enjoy.

Hound Tor 18

Credit: photos 4, 5, first megacryst, and all agile activity by Berry

MOTTISTONE NEOLITHIC LONG STONE, ISLE OF WIGHT

Published on November 29, 2012December 3, 2012 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

MOTTISTONE NEOLITHIC LONG STONE, ISLE OF WIGHT

This hilltop is believed to have been a place of burial. The stones are about 6000 years old, but are not in their original position. In later times – for example, the Saxon era – this was a meeting place, possibly a court (cf Witanagemot). The village name, Mottistone, derives from ‘Mooting Stone’.

ROLLRIGHT STONES, OXFORDSHIRE: (2) LATE-NEOLITHIC STONE CIRCLE

Published on July 10, 2012July 10, 2012 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

THE ROLLRIGHT STONES – OXFORDSHIRE

ROLLRIGHT STONES, OXFORDSHIRE: (1) PATTERNS

Published on June 27, 2012July 10, 2012 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

The Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire is a late-neolithic stone circle about 30 meters in diameter. The stones are heavily marked by time, and many have colourful lichen growths. Some of these lichens are thought to be 400 – 800 years old. Here are some examples of the stone patterns