A Life of Ley Hunting

1988

April 1988
A NORFOLK LEY

When my wife Doris visited Norfolk recently, she passed through the village of Caistor St. Edmund. south of Norwich, and noticed a church on the earthwork of a Roman town there. Although it was locked. she could feel even from the outside that it was a fairly power'ul church. so when she returned and told me about it I decided to see how it looked on the map.

Aligning the church with Norwich Cathedral I saw immediately that the line ran along a straight edge of the earthwork - even though it was Roman - and I was soon to find that it was a very good lay indeed. Coming north, it goes through Fritton church, a short piece of coincident track north of it, two cross-roads in Saxhogham Nethergate, a half-mile stretch of coincident track, Caistor church and Roman earthwork, five churches and the cathedral in Norwich, a cross-roads in the north of the city, coincident track in Spixworth, a junction, a cross-roads, a cross-roads/tracks, and another cross-roads. This makes fourteen points, if you ignore junctions and coincident tracks - though the latter add to the lays validity. There seem to be two other lays going through the church, too - one of which passes through a henge monument to the south of the city.

July 1988
TWO FIELD TRIPS
We have had two interesting field trips recently, though not entirely without mishap. The first was on June 12th (ay birthday'.) and was led by Chris Hall - we visited a number of old stones on the Surrey-Hampshire border. Unfortunately Chris and I and my wife Doris were the only ones present from our group, but there was a group from the London Earth Mysteries Circle in their minibus.

We met at Redroad Hill, near Camberley; the road is the ancient Waultway and the spot is the place "above High Curley' where there was a stone mentioned by Daniel Defoe. The stone now at the junction was unearthed in 1970 and left 'for landscaping". Several of the stones we saw on the trip were re-erected or erected on sItes of others by local authorities, and this subconscious siting seems widespread - there is a new standing stone in Staines (the name probably comes from 'stones') and also one at Tolworth found in excavations and erected there. This phenomenon was possibly the most significant finding of the trip.

Next we visited several stones about which there is some doubt, about a mile north on the Maultway. There is a new stone with a plaque on the site of the Basing Stone (or Hart Stone?), and a Gibbet Stone which may have been the Basing Stone, and two stones close together which are probably modern but which gave one of the party a strong feeling when walking between them.

A walk of about a mile across the heath brought us to the Wishmoor Stone, though at this point we somehow managed to lose our way at first and lose some of the party. But we eventually found the stone, recumbent and in beautiful surroundings, on the Surrey-Berkshire border.

The next stone was set in the wall of a church - Yateley Church in Hampshire, which was burnt down a few years ago but rebuilt - unfortunately the interior is in ultra-modern style but there is still energy there. Other stones were found in the foundations during the rebuilding.

Farnborough parish church, in Chris's words, has it all. It is on a hilltop, marked by a tumulus, has a circular churchyard, dates from the seventh century, and was formerly the starting point of an annual procession round the village held in early August (the old Celtic festival). Outside are two stones which lie one on the other. As if this wasn't enough, a very friendly parishioner told us of a tunnel from the church to a nearby school which was discovered when it caved in, and legends of several othersl The origins of the stones are not known.

Doris and I had to leave at this point to visit my father in hospital, but the rest of the group went on to Cockadobby Hill, a tumulus which everyone felt was very friendly. They then went to Caesar's Camp hilifort near to an ancient beacon hill, and saw the Jock and Jenny stones in the side of it, from which a healing spring usually flows, but which was dry on this occasion. To round the day off they had a meal at Farnham.

The London group could not attend our second field trip on July 17th because it was the weekend of the Ley Hunter Moot in Swansea. However, Charles Refoy and Daniele and Roy Hart came with me on the trip to visit local stones and tracks; Richard Pywell tried to find us during the afternoon but unfortunately we failed to meet up.

We had chosen the wrong time to visit the various churches as all had services just starting when we were there. Byfleet church is a very powerful ley energy place on two seemingly important leys - one to Wisley church and stone and another to the Fox Hill aligned track and St. George's Hill hillfort. It also once had rather a mysterious mound on the side of it.

From here we walked to Wisley church and saw the pockmarked stone in the porch and the aligning track to Byf leet church on the horison, though the view of this is not as good as it was. It is a Norman building.

Pyrford church, which we visited next, is also Norman but in a very different situation - on a hill with a circular churchyard. We walked to the nearby Pyrford stone, an apparently Christianised (cross-incised) standing stone which is not, however, in its original position. No leys have ever been found through it or the centre of the junction where it once was, but it is only fifty yards or so from the Fox Hill ley, which makes me wonder if it was moved twice and was originally on the line. Stone Farm in the position it "should" be on the ley seems further circumstantial evidence, but we will probably never know.

We then tried to walk the mile-long Fox Hill track, but were forced to retrace our steps because of mud. We went round to the other end by car, walked the Carter's Lane aligned track nearby and took the track linking it to Fox Hill. We were able then to walk the more interesting part of the track, which rises to a peak where there are some Scots pines. This may be how we lost Richard Pywell, by deviating from our itinerary.

After a welcome cup of tea with our picnics at Daniele and Roy's house In Byfleet, we went to see the stone on Horsell Common, set In beautiful woodland. Its stream appeared dried up, but on excavating Its culvert with sticks we managed to free It from silt and start it flowing again,which pleased us. Charles and I seemed to feel a slight tingle on the stone. We Saw nearby Danewell Hill with its pine clump, which is on a ley from the half-mile long track of Ferry Lane, Chertsey, one from Shepperton church and another from St. Augustine's, Addlestone, near where I live. All these links made us feel aware of the ley pattern as an interlinking system. The sandy crater near Danewell Hill was also the place where H.G. Wells set the landing of the Martians in 'War of the Worlds'. Mounds In the woods nearby could he tumull, but neither they nor the stone are marked on the map, even the 1:25000.

A STONE CIRCLE AT YATELEY?
by Chris Hall
Yateley Church, In Hampshire close to the Surrey border near Camberley, was mentioned in Touchstone in 1985 because a sarsen stone is built into its wall. It has been suggested by local historians that this pre-dated the church, and was simply used as convenient building material. A church at nearby Eversley also has a sarsen in its foundations (1,2). Part of the Yateley stone may still be seen at the base of the wall beside the church porch.

Recently I came across some additional information. As explained in the original article, in 1979 the church was burned out by an arsonist. It was rebuilt in 1981/82, retaining those walls not too severely cracked by heat. During the rebuilding archaeologists were able to examine the surviving Anglo-Saxon wall, and were permitted to excavate the nave (3). Examination of the wall showed it to be built of mortar and flint, but also with pieces of sarsen. The upper part of the wall was mainly of dressed sarsen. A small trench outside revealed a large sarsen block resting on the earth, which had been used In the footings for the wall. This Is similar to but smaller than the sarsen referred to in the earlier article. The presence of two such blocks led the archaeologists to suggest all of the Saxon walls could have been built upon sarsens. Subsequently it was discovered that sarsen blocks were also used as footings beneath the floor. These are at a depth of about 40 inches, and are no longer visible.

The archaeologists make no comment on the use of sarsens, except to Imply they were brought In by the builders. Yet such rock as may be found in the Yateley area (and it is not a rocky district) is mainly sandstone. Flints may be dug up easily enough on the sandy hills of the heaths. Sarsen, to my knowledge, Is not a locally available stone.

The anomaly grows when we refer to the opening remarks by the archaeologists. The Domesday survey, they tell us, shows Yateley to have been "the poorest and least populated part of Hampshire, an area of heavily wooded Infertile clays, sands and gravels. There can have been little wealth to spare for church building, and timber would normally have been used in preference to sarsen and flint". The lower lands at Yateley certainly were well wooded at the time of Domesday, though other Saxon records suggest the higher land was already open heath. Yateley Common, a high plateau of almost 1200 acres, is described as "the heathfield" in a tenth century charter.

For some reason, sarsen was brought to Yateley by the Anglo-Saxon builders of its first recorded church. Either that, or the stones were already there. It has to be observed that there would appear to be enough sarsens to form a stone circle. Does anybody have any comments?

References
1) Touchstone 6, page 4-5 (June 1985)
2) Touchstone 7, page 7 (September 1985).
3) "The Anglo-Saxon Church at Yateley", by David A. Hinton and Martin
K. Oake; In the Proceedings of Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, Vol. 39, pages 111-120 (1983).

THE SECOND KINGSTON GREEN FAIR
by Rob Stephenson
It was a great pity that this worthy event in May, which centres on a concern for the environment, should have suffered such appaling weather.

As last year Mary Caine had her Terrestrial Zodiac stall next to that of the London Earth Hysterics Circle. The London group made its first labyrinth; a circular one, 18 feet across, drawn on the grass with the aid of a rope, a peg and a can of emulsion paint. This attracted attention as soon as it was begun and proved especially popular with the children, as well as being a useful talking-point generally.

However, for a fair like this to be really successful it is essential that the weather be reasonably favourable, and this it was not. It rained ferociously - not all the time it is true, for there were some sunny breaks - but it was a deluge each time it did so. There was even hail at one point and eventually it became impossible to keep oneself or anything else dry. This was a shame after last year's triumph, particularly as the fair was even bigger, with a bumper line-up of entertainers and attractions. It deserved a better fate.

October 1988
THE PUMPSAINT ZODIAC
When he heard that I was going on holiday in the area of the Pumpsaint Zodiac near Lampeter in Wales, Philip Heselton sent me a large sheaf of photocopied information on it. I found that the zodiac had been discovered as early as 1948 by a Lewis Edwards, who numbered among his othe activities being a political agent ~or the prime sinister ~amsay NarDonald.

He believed that the circle he had found was an actual temple, used for worship, and even isolated two hills near the centre that he identified am the inner and outer sanctuaries, one for initiates and the other for the people. On visiting the former I found it to have a very uplifting atmosphere, and the field definitely seemed to have some kind of banking around it, though it was not marked on the map as an antiquity. The field entrance had a large oak tree beside it.

The atmosphere was markedly different to the nearby Llwyn wood, which had a feeling of decay about it, probably accentuated by the fallen trees which may have been a result of last year's hurricane. Strangely, it was similar to that felt at Park Wood at the centre of the Somerset Zodiac many years ago. A lorry full of dogs, all whining piteously with no person in evidence, completed the picture. The wood is nonetheless quite interesting as the name 'Llwyn" is Welsh for 'grove', and although it is marked on the map as coniferous, there are several other species mixed in with them, which is suggestive of it once having been a druidical grove.

The zodiac is similar to the Somerset one, but with some differences. Scorpio, for instance, is not represented by one figure but three - a scorpion, a serpent and an eagle, supposedly symbolising death and the transcendence of the soul. There is a nearby pass called Bwlch Cefn Sarth - if Sarth Is a corruption of Sarff this would mean 'the pass at the back of the serpent". The hill forming the serpent is clearly vleible from the road, as 15 the one forming Virgo the other side.

There seems to be some disagreement as to the nature of Aquarius - Edwards says it is a squirrel, whereas in John Michael's article it is said to be a phoenix. Either way, it is very difficult to find on the map, as is Leo. Many of the others are quite well-defined though, particularly Pisces which is formed by two woods which are clearly visible from the road to the north of the circle.

Perhaps the most striking place in the sodiac that we visited was the Carreg-y-Bwchi, the Hobgoblin Stone. This is on an alignment which skirts the two sanctuaries and is coincident with a two-mile stretch of the Sam Helen to the north. (Alfred Watkins mentions this road in connection with Helen, traditionally a daughter of King Coel, who he connects with the lay surveyors). The line skirts an ancient site to the north of that, as well as going through a few minor points. A somewhat better ley links it with two cairns on the nearby hilltop (one of which is visible from it) and two other well-spaced cairns several miles away, and some minor points.

The site itself is very impressive, approached by a rather alarming road with a precipice at one side. It is a mound, visible from some distance, and on top is a very large slab of conglomerate atone. There is a hollow in one side which seems to be intended for some kind of offerings, and when I visited it it had several pieces of pure quarts crystal apparently placed in it. Around it is a scatter of other stones which Lewis Edwards felt could be the remains of a stone circle. and I tend to think this could be right. There are stories attached to the place of farmers turning a covetous eye on the stone, but who were discouraged by freak thunderstorms when they tried to remove it.

Another alignment mentioned by Edwards which turned Out to be a very good ley is the one which he felt was used to 'Set the cirtle~~. As nearly as can be ascertained, it passes through the centre of the circle. Edwards writes: ' ... the alignment of Cairns or Tumuli on Mynydd Llanbyther to the south west of the Temple. On the 6-inch map, four cairns are marked here - there are only three on the one-inch map. Except for the second from the north, they are in a straight line and are known by the name Crugiau Edryd. Further to the south west stands an isolated cairn, Crug y Biswal, which is on lower ground thao Crugiau Edryd. A line drawn from Crug y Biswal through the centre of the line of cairns Crugiau Edryd points to the centre of the Circle and is clearly the line of Orientation. It passes near the eye of Taurus and thereby indicates that the Temple was constructed soon after the commencement of the Age of Taurus, which occurred about 4,500 B.C. ' This line passes through other points besides the ones mentioned, however. It passes through a motte and a settlement at Pencader, Crug y Biawal, Crugiau Edryd. a junction of tracks near Llwyn wood at the centre of the circle. a church at Pont Rhyd-felin and a standing stone a little further to the east; in addition to several hill peaks. It is clearly a most significant line. Unfortunately our holiday had to be Out short because of a funeral, so what was found was severely limited - the scope for further work is clear.

Our other holiday in Yorkshire was not in such a good position with regard to earth mysteries, though it had many fascinating purely historical featureS. Nevertheless, I did manage to follow quite a good ley which runs across the moors, quite close to the cottage where we were staying. There is a very good visual stretch between two clumps (not marked on the map) - the line wam also seen to pass through a field gate here. Further south It went through a stone marked as a rocking stone, though after a trudge across the moor in atrocious weather, my son and I could find no part of it that rocked except a very small slab in the ground, Luddenden church, further south, is in an attractive setting but unfortunately locked. The ley passes through a number of minor points as well as Sutton-in-Craven church to the north

Spectres at Silchester
"Brayley and Britton, in 'The Beauties of England' (1805), after graphically describing the features of Mortimer Heath, tell a rather neat spectral story, somewhat similar to the phenomenon observed at Souter~fell in Cueberland, about the time of the Jacobite rebellion. At Mortimer, two military officers in regimentals, from the vicinity of Reading, were riding across the heath. They observed, as they thought, some soldiers on horseback galloping along the brow of a low hillside running from the valley up to Silchester. The hillside was partly involved in a mist of fog. Surprised at the appearance of cavalry in this secluded situation, they hastened to the spot, but the objects vanished as they approached, leaving the two riders strangely impressed with the singularity of the adventure."

From "The Book of Silchester, by James Thomson, vol, 1, Lloyd and Co., London, 1924. Credit: Chris Hall.

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