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Stone Circles Of Modern Origin

Ham Hill in Somerset - a country park and still partly a working quarry for the beautiful orange 'Ham stone' that typifies the local buildings - has a modern stone circle that's starting to weather quite nicely.



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It was erected as a millennium project and commemorates the long history of stone quarrying on the hill.

Back in the 1970s there were still concrete WWII pill boxes standing, from when the quarry was used for training. If you were lucky you could still find the odd brass bullet casing. From the war memorial in the background you can see many villages all around, including the late Paddy Ashdown's gaff.

Well worth a visit if you're in south Somerset, more stuff here: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Ham-Hill-Somerset/
 
There is a modern monolith in the little valley near Priston Somerset. I believe it was erected in 2014 and the stone came from Wales. There is a little bit of information in the nearby pub- Ring of Bells which does an excellent range of ciders and decent food ( Fire place and bowling alley too). grid reference might be ST 691 602 priston 2.jpgpriston 1.jpg
 
AnonyJoolz said:
Ham Hill in Somerset - a country park and still partly a working quarry for the beautiful orange 'Ham stone' that typifies the local buildings - has a modern stone circle that's starting to weather quite nicely.


View attachment 14383

It was erected as a millennium project and commemorates the long history of stone quarrying on the hill.

Back in the 1970s there were still concrete WWII pill boxes standing, from when the quarry was used for training. If you were lucky you could still find the odd brass bullet casing. From the war memorial in the background you can see many villages all around, including the late Paddy Ashdown's gaff.

Well worth a visit if you're in south Somerset, more stuff here: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Ham-Hill-Somerset/
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I used to live in Montacute and regularly walked from home to Ham Hill and back. Ah memories...

Also, whilst we're there, has anyone definitively decided on a date for the Cerne Abbas Giant? (Refrains from posting a picture in case any delicate sensibilities are upset).
 
Went to the Isle of Skye and were disappointed there were not enough ancient landmarks? Solution: make your own!
Circle news

Tourists have been taking stones and making their own stone circles, apparently because Skye is a bit too boring. Making that worse, these circles are being constructed from stone walls that are already venerable landmarks. So they're destroying heritage for their selfies. Thanks for nothing.
 
GNC said:
Went to the Isle of Skye and were disappointed there were not enough ancient landmarks? Solution: make your own!
Circle news

Tourists have been taking stones and making their own stone circles, apparently because Skye is a bit too boring. Making that worse, these circles are being constructed from stone walls that are already venerable landmarks. So they're destroying heritage for their selfies. Thanks for nothing.
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Been there, both literally and metaphorically.

maximus otter
 
AnonyJ said:
Ham Hill in Somerset - a country park and still partly a working quarry for the beautiful orange 'Ham stone' that typifies the local buildings - has a modern stone circle that's starting to weather quite nicely.


View attachment 14383

It was erected as a millennium project and commemorates the long history of stone quarrying on the hill.

Back in the 1970s there were still concrete WWII pill boxes standing, from when the quarry was used for training. If you were lucky you could still find the odd brass bullet casing. From the war memorial in the background you can see many villages all around, including the late Paddy Ashdown's gaff.

Well worth a visit if you're in south Somerset, more stuff here: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Ham-Hill-Somerset/
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Mr J during one of our 'permitted travel to exercise' excursions during 2020. The doorway frames a nice view of the 1999 stones - he was looking forward to the future without lockdown restrictions :)

IMG_0098 - Copy.JPEG
 
AnonyJ said:
Mr J during one of our 'permitted travel to exercise' excursions during 2020. The doorway frames a nice view of the 1999 stones - he was looking forward to the future without lockdown restrictions
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A fine figure of a man! er... how did he get up there? I'm going to be very disappointed if there is a nice staircase round the back!
 
Frideswide said:
A fine figure of a man! er... how did he get up there? I'm going to be very disappointed if there is a nice staircase round the back!
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He climbed up. He's unstoppable, even after his serious illness of a year before. If (say) large boulders as a sea defence have a sign on them saying "do not climb up these rocks" he is prone to climbing on them to take a picture of the sign... in his sandals or flip-flops. It's the Nepalese way! :rollingw:

When asked about our experience of married life I (truthfully) reply "there's never a dull moment."
 
I've just come back from a city break in Norwich, my first time in East Anglia (I prefer hill country but was looking for somewhere I'd never been before), and was pleasantly surprised. On the way back home yesterday, we took a rail replacement bus from Norwich to Ipswich before continuing by train. The bus took the A140 and somewhere in the region of Mendlesham/Wetheringsett I swear that I saw a small stone circle on the left hand side (east side). I have trawled Google Maps but have not been able to find anything. I am assuming it is modern. Does anyone local to the area know it?
 
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SimonBurchell said:
I've just come back from a city break in Norwich, my first time in East Anglia (I prefer hill country but was looking for somewhere I'd never been before), and was pleasantly surprised. On the way back home yesterday, we took a rail replacement bus from Norwich to Ipswich before continuing by train. The bus took the A140 and somewhere in the region of Mendlesham/Wetheringsett I swear that I saw a small stone circle on the left hand side (east side). I have trawled Google Maps but have not been able to find anything. I am assuming it is modern. Does anyone local to the area know it?
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I can't see anything either.

@Carl Grove or @Swifty may know?

Unrelated, there is this;

https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=45605
 
SimonBurchell said:
I've just come back from a city break in Norwich, my first time in East Anglia (I prefer hill country but was looking for somewhere I'd never been before), and was pleasantly surprised. On the way back home yesterday, we took a rail replacement bus from Norwich to Ipswich before continuing by train. The bus took the A140 and somewhere in the region of Mendlesham/Wetheringsett I swear that I saw a small stone circle on the left hand side (east side). I have trawled Google Maps but have not been able to find anything. I am assuming it is modern. Does anyone local to the area know it?
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I haven't heard of it but I can ask around.
 
Swifty said:
I haven't heard of it but I can ask around.
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The bus had just come through a small settlement, the circle was very neat and well-tended, perhaps 5 metres across, the stones maybe 2-3ft high and typical irregular standing stones, although clean of lichen etc. I had a clear view of it, but the bus was past it quite quickly (in under 10 seconds).
 
SimonBurchell said:
The bus had just come through a small settlement, the circle was very neat and well-tended, perhaps 5 metres across, the stones maybe 2-3ft high and typical irregular standing stones, although clean of lichen etc. I had a clear view of it, but the bus was past it quite quickly (in under 10 seconds).
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I've cut and pasted your question to facebook's NORFOLK FOLKLORE SOCIETY and NORFOLK'S FORGOTTEN HISTORY in case anyone recognises it. I've also just learned that a newly built stone circle was first spotted in '99 in the coastal North Norfolk village of Knapton.

edit: https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=36980
 
Swifty said:
I've cut and pasted your question to facebook's NORFOLK FOLKLORE SOCIETY and NORFOLK'S FORGOTTEN HISTORY in case anyone recognises it. I've also just learned that a newly built stone circle was first spotted in '99 in the coastal North Norfolk village of Knapton.
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Thanks! I think it was actually just across the border in Suffolk, although my knowledge of where the border actually runs is... I was going to say pretty vague but it would be more accurate to say non-existent!
 
Has Australia's Esperance Stonehenge been discussed yet ? It's a full scale replica of the original, made of stone blocks weighing up to 50 tons each, all properly aligned to the equinoxes.

The best part is that it reproduces Stonehenge as it originally appeared, not the decrepit old half collapsed ruin that the Brits have to put up with.

It gets very little publicity, so most people have never heard of it, but the pictures look impressive. If it does have a fault it's that the stones look too neat and squared.

https://esperancestonehenge.com.au/

Esperance_Stonehenge.jpg
 
Salmonellus said:
Has Australia's Esperance Stonehenge been discussed yet ? It's a full scale replica of the original, made of stone blocks weighing up to 50 tons each, all properly aligned to the equinoxes.

The best part is that it reproduces Stonehenge as it originally appeared, not the decrepit old half collapsed ruin that the Brits have to put up with.

It gets very little publicity, so most people have never heard of it, but the pictures look impressive. If it does have a fault it's that the stones look too neat and squared.

https://esperancestonehenge.com.au/

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I hiked past Stonehenge about a month ago, and it struck me for the first time (perhaps due to my viewing angles - approaching over the ridgeline from the south, then skirting it to the west and getting as close to it on the north side as I could without paying - which is actually pretty close) that it surely must have had a roof on it when it was built.
 
SimonBurchell said:
Thanks! I think it was actually just across the border in Suffolk, although my knowledge of where the border actually runs is... I was going to say pretty vague but it would be more accurate to say non-existent!
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My pleasure Simon. I've only been to the Norfolk/Suffolk border a few times to visit a haunted church in Santon near Brandon so I don't know the area too well either. (We've had to drive through a dogging site in Santon to get to the church in the past which was amusing).
 
SimonBurchell said:
I hiked past Stonehenge about a month ago, and it struck me for the first time (perhaps due to my viewing angles - approaching over the ridgeline from the south, then skirting it to the west and getting as close to it on the north side as I could without paying - which is actually pretty close) that it surely must have had a roof on it when it was built.
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There is a school of thought that suggests Stonehenge had a roof. This article has some nice pictures of what it may have looked like.

https://archaeology-world.com/the-a...-once-had-a-thatched-roof-to-form-the-temple/

The model does rather resemble a giant version of a round house. I liked the reproduction round houses they had built at the Stonehenge visitor centre last time I was there. You can imagine a roofed stone circle being part of the same culture.

I think Ptolemy also makes a vague reference to something that people have interpreted as a roofed Stonehenge. Have to look that one up.
 
SimonBurchell said:
The bus had just come through a small settlement, the circle was very neat and well-tended, perhaps 5 metres across, the stones maybe 2-3ft high and typical irregular standing stones, although clean of lichen etc. I had a clear view of it, but the bus was past it quite quickly (in under 10 seconds).
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I've had a (sort of) answer:

Paranormal Reason ·
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Although I cannot answer a definitively, it would be of the modern era, a folly if you like. Still interesting though.
Other than the odd few (small stone) dotted here and there, the nearest neolithic stone constructions to East Anglia (the southern diagonal at least) are in North Kent, Kitts Coity being the most well known, near Blue Bell Hill.
 
Salmonellus said:
Has Australia's Esperance Stonehenge been discussed yet ? It's a full scale replica of the original, made of stone blocks weighing up to 50 tons each, all properly aligned to the equinoxes.

The best part is that it reproduces Stonehenge as it originally appeared, not the decrepit old half collapsed ruin that the Brits have to put up with.

It gets very little publicity, so most people have never heard of it, but the pictures look impressive. If it does have a fault it's that the stones look too neat and squared.

https://esperancestonehenge.com.au/

View attachment 75057
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Rather odd that I came across your post today 'Salmonellus,' as for the last few day's, I've been trying to fatham out why on earth would the builders of Stonehenge have bothered with making, then lifting all those heavy 'cap stones' to top of the henge stones?

Surely, with the tonnage of each stone, they wouldn't need to 'hold' them together as they wouldn't have moved anyway, especially as they used tongue-and-groove type construction, it would seem a bit 'over-the-top?' (excuse the pun!) On second thought's though. . . don't! :), as it's quite appropriate really.

Maybe it was constructed for a roof, or, could it possibly have been ~ as the picture above illustrates quite well, a way to provide a ring-shadow from the 'cap-stones' onto the ground below, both inside and outside of the henge itself? That's my thought's anyway, maybe there's a source for some kind of continual calculation (an observation platform) that they might have needed to add to either the procession, or their precision?

*It would also make perfect sense for those cap stones to be nothing other than a high, or alternate view point - a walkway, either to view anything approaching in the distance, or to do with their sky-gazing calculations? :thought:
 
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Stormkhan said:
In the country park near my home. Near the children's playground, intended as an outdoor storytelling location. Sadly, not often used.
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Filey Brigg.
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There are a few new stone circles in Yorkshire;
The Druid's Temple in Ilton
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Green Bank circle, which I spent an afternoon looking for, without knowing it was modern.
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=51748
V__look_north_easterly.JPG
 
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I posted the wrong link there. The Green Bank circle was built in a private country park, in 2013. There are several real megalithic stones in the park, but this circle is entirely new.
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=51748
This is a very modern stone circle erected about 2013 when the Lord Stones Country Park and restaurant reopened under new owners. Actually its more of a semi circle with its inner arc facing easterly. Located on the summit of Green Bank there are extensive views over the Tees Plain.
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It's a beautiful location, with Rosebery Topping in the distance, and a nice cafe at the foot of the hill.
 
The other circle, in Ilton near Masham, is a bit older, and is a folly constructed in the early 19th century by William Danby and his estate workers.
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22515
Modern Stone Circle in Yorkshire (North). New Swinton Hall is a mile or so to the west of Masham, near Ilton. It was built by the owner himself, William Danby (1752 - 1833). His next project was the labour intensive work of creating another Stonehenge, with a shilling a day paid to the workers.
An enormous oval of altars, menhirs, dolmens, sarsens and other phallic and neo-Druidical paraphernalia was raised on the Yorkshire moors. Several solitary standing stones lined a ceremonial avenue leading to the temple. It is well preserved in the middle of Forestry Commission land.
A guide to the district dated 1910 claimed that "the builder of the temple offered to provide any individual with food, and a subsequent annuity, providing he would reside in the temple seven years, living the primitive life, speaking to no one and allowing his beard and hair to grow. It is said that one man underwent this self-imposed infliction for four-and-a-half years, at the end of which he was compelled to admit defeat.
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Part of the fashion for 'hermits' in that era; people paid a salary to pretend to be wild men or anchorites for local colour.
 
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