Post by WitchBoy on Aug 30, 2002 10:30:54 GMT -5
Unlike many other areas of the country, East Anglia for the most part has no exposed native rock. But it has, so it seems, been quite well endowed with a number of 'erratics': boulders brought down by the glacial drift of the last ice age. Our pagan ancestors were enthralled by these strange stones and frequently moved them to other spots and venerated them. A great many of our old churches were built on or very near these stones, in an attempt to woo the heathen population into accepting the newly arrived Christian religion.
Other types of these mysterious stones often served a "way-marks" that is to say, standing stones sometimes several feet high, which marked a point on an ancient track. Veneration came first, but it was allied to, and closely followed by, the use of stones as meeting-places. It was quite common practice for assemblies of the populace to take place on hallowed ground, and in many cases the ancient boulder was the focal point. Even where not in sacred enclosure, the stones were used to hold the manor courts, public moots and other such functions, and these frequently came to be regarded as boundary-markers for the local parishes.
The Longfield Stone was the scene in the 1561 and 1568 of the Court for the Gallow Hundred. This was held on Gallow Hill, near Dunton, in Norfolk. The Court for the Shropham Hundred was convened at a boulder at Stonebridge, near East Wretham, while a 'pudding stone' on Nayland Court Knoll served a similar purpose, this on the Suffolk-Essex border. The Cowell Stone lies at the junction of the Icknield Way and Fincham Drove, and it once marked the parish boundaries of Narbourgh, Marham, Swaffham and Beechamwell. This is also a 'pudding stone' and forms a point on that strange line of boulders called the Conglomerate Track which runs from Norfolk to Berkshire.
The holiness of these stones was never quite forgotten, and the early Christian missionaries made use of them for preaching purposes. The Chediston Stone is a huge boulder of stratified sandstone now lying in a private garden on the outskirts of that Suffolk village. The name of the village probably derives from the old English 'Ceddes Stan' which means 'Cedd's Stone', and must be related to St Cedd who preached nearby.
In an alleyway off the main street of Harleston, Norfolk, there stands a large granite block, formerly known as 'Herolf's Stone.' Herolf was a Danish chieftain who stood upon this stone and granted various dwellings to the local guilds, and it is thus claimed that the town's name originates from this.
Many such "erratics" still have an echo of pagan ritual or folk-belief lingering about them, obscure though its origin may now be. "A fallen monolith" sits on the grass outside St Mary's Church, Bungay; a round, grey boulder clothed in linen. This is usually called the Druid's Stone, but a running game once performed about it was said to call up the devil. Similarly, the Witch's Stone (actually a 14th Century tombstone) in Westleton churchyard was the scene of a children's dance which summoned Satan, though here only the rattling of his chains could be heard. The Skipping Block in Norfolk seems to belie some ancient game, though it has no legend. No longer extant, it stood in a significant position at a crossroads, and was once the meeting-place of the parishes of Barnham Broom and Kimberley.
There are certain stones which seem to have a predilection for water and clocks, outside a barn at Sheringham, on the north Norfolk coast, are two small stones that are reputed to get up and run across the road when they hear the cockcrow, while a boulder at Caldecote does a sprint at midnight. The 'witching hour' is also the moment when an object called the Plague Stone turns around in the grounds of Brome Hall, and two stone balls revolve atop a 17th century gateway at Parham.
The famous Stockton Stone, just north of Beccles, is one of the few East Anglian monoliths with a curse upon it. It is said that anyone who moves it will surely die. In fact, it was moved a few yards several years ago when the road was straightened and one of the workmen died suddenly. In a pit near the Norfolk village of Merton rests a boulder with far more disastrous implications in it legend. If this stone is removed al the waters will rise and cover the whole earth. The present Lord Walsingham informs me that his grandfather once gathered together some men and attempted to move the stone with ropes and horses. Although they failed in their task, one result was said to be an immediate and licentious orgy!
Other types of these mysterious stones often served a "way-marks" that is to say, standing stones sometimes several feet high, which marked a point on an ancient track. Veneration came first, but it was allied to, and closely followed by, the use of stones as meeting-places. It was quite common practice for assemblies of the populace to take place on hallowed ground, and in many cases the ancient boulder was the focal point. Even where not in sacred enclosure, the stones were used to hold the manor courts, public moots and other such functions, and these frequently came to be regarded as boundary-markers for the local parishes.
The Longfield Stone was the scene in the 1561 and 1568 of the Court for the Gallow Hundred. This was held on Gallow Hill, near Dunton, in Norfolk. The Court for the Shropham Hundred was convened at a boulder at Stonebridge, near East Wretham, while a 'pudding stone' on Nayland Court Knoll served a similar purpose, this on the Suffolk-Essex border. The Cowell Stone lies at the junction of the Icknield Way and Fincham Drove, and it once marked the parish boundaries of Narbourgh, Marham, Swaffham and Beechamwell. This is also a 'pudding stone' and forms a point on that strange line of boulders called the Conglomerate Track which runs from Norfolk to Berkshire.
The holiness of these stones was never quite forgotten, and the early Christian missionaries made use of them for preaching purposes. The Chediston Stone is a huge boulder of stratified sandstone now lying in a private garden on the outskirts of that Suffolk village. The name of the village probably derives from the old English 'Ceddes Stan' which means 'Cedd's Stone', and must be related to St Cedd who preached nearby.
In an alleyway off the main street of Harleston, Norfolk, there stands a large granite block, formerly known as 'Herolf's Stone.' Herolf was a Danish chieftain who stood upon this stone and granted various dwellings to the local guilds, and it is thus claimed that the town's name originates from this.
Many such "erratics" still have an echo of pagan ritual or folk-belief lingering about them, obscure though its origin may now be. "A fallen monolith" sits on the grass outside St Mary's Church, Bungay; a round, grey boulder clothed in linen. This is usually called the Druid's Stone, but a running game once performed about it was said to call up the devil. Similarly, the Witch's Stone (actually a 14th Century tombstone) in Westleton churchyard was the scene of a children's dance which summoned Satan, though here only the rattling of his chains could be heard. The Skipping Block in Norfolk seems to belie some ancient game, though it has no legend. No longer extant, it stood in a significant position at a crossroads, and was once the meeting-place of the parishes of Barnham Broom and Kimberley.
There are certain stones which seem to have a predilection for water and clocks, outside a barn at Sheringham, on the north Norfolk coast, are two small stones that are reputed to get up and run across the road when they hear the cockcrow, while a boulder at Caldecote does a sprint at midnight. The 'witching hour' is also the moment when an object called the Plague Stone turns around in the grounds of Brome Hall, and two stone balls revolve atop a 17th century gateway at Parham.
The famous Stockton Stone, just north of Beccles, is one of the few East Anglian monoliths with a curse upon it. It is said that anyone who moves it will surely die. In fact, it was moved a few yards several years ago when the road was straightened and one of the workmen died suddenly. In a pit near the Norfolk village of Merton rests a boulder with far more disastrous implications in it legend. If this stone is removed al the waters will rise and cover the whole earth. The present Lord Walsingham informs me that his grandfather once gathered together some men and attempted to move the stone with ropes and horses. Although they failed in their task, one result was said to be an immediate and licentious orgy!
