Sadly, stones that formed the forecourt have been taken away leaving a much smaller monument. have been used for the burial of only certain privileged members of the St Johns Church and Witchs Grave at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, NorthStaffordshire. Evidence from a variety of sources suggest this was a chambered tomb of massive proportions, with a paved crescentic forecourt. First described in local deeds as early as 1491, there are a great number of severely weathered boulders all round, many like frozen giants haunting a magickal landscape. They represent the burial places of Britain's early Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. As one of the few types of Neolithic structures to survive as This is a popular trail for birding, hiking, and running, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. There are further suggestions that the name is slightly more recent as wedding ceremonies took place at the site and the original name has been lost through time. His local books include: The Bridestones (Bawdstone Press) Myths & Legends of East Cheshire & the Moorlands (Sigma) Magic, Myth & Memory of the Peak District (Churnet Valley Books) document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Can usually be found within a castle or at Glastonbury. Enjoy access to more than 500 places with National Trust membership. Each of them is now broken in two. c Mermaid Carving at Zennor Church inCornwall. Before this large-scale ransacking occurred, it appears that the Bridestones was an incredible monument, perhaps unique in England. The Bridestones at Timbersbrook in Cheshire. entrance is a re-positioned portal stone 1.2m high. A dark, shadowy figure has been witnessed in and around the stones and a report in the Congleton Chronicle a few years back stated that a woman with her partner had witnessed a druidic figure in white near to the site. The Bridestones -A Neolithic Chambered Long Cairn. There are a number of myths and legends associated with The Bridestones, many of these going back to the mists of time. Billingsley, John, Folk Tales From Calderdale, Volume 1, Northern Earth, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, 2008. In the 1760s some of the stones were used for the nearby road (Dial Lane), while other stones were used in the building of Bridestones farm; other stones from the monument have ended up in Tunstall Park, Stoke-on-Trent. Local legend says that Nan Moor and Jack Stone lived at the rock-housea few hundred years ago as guardians of the stones, and they wereproba-bly marriedthere, too. The Bridestones are known locally as a mythical and spiritual place, sitting high on the moor above the Staffordshire Moorland Town of Biddulph, a few miles east of Congleton. The entrance was filled up with free stones and earth, supposed to be dust blown by the wind from year to year in dry weather. These rock forma-tions have been made by the ravages of time wind and rain over thousands of years weathering away the soft grit-stone into strange andcurious shapes, and there are indeed some strange-shaped rocks some looking like human heads and faces (the sphinx), while others look like prehistoric birds, a gianttortoise, anda bear, and theres even a huge anvil-shaped rock. The name Bridestones might be derived from Bridia, Brighid, orBriga, the pre-Roman (Iron Age)diety who is more oftenknown from history asBrigantia, goddess of the Brigantes tribe of northern England just prior to, and up to,the Roman Conquest. Cup-Marked Stone on Delves Lane, near Nelson,Lancashire. (LogOut/ The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public. Dating from 3500 to 2400BC a long cairn is a burial chamber made of stone and associated with high status burials. Mermaid Carving at Zennor Church inCornwall. [1] It was described in 1764 as being 120 yards (110m) long and 12 yards (11m) wide, containing three separate compartments, of which only one remains today. And another local author, Geoff Boswell, in his book On The Tops around Todmorden, says: We know that the early Britons lived in Todmorden. Discover fascinating rock formations hewn by the elements from Jurassic-era sedimentary rock over millennia, then spot wildlife in the surrounding Bridestones nature reserve. The Marsden Cross, Marsden Heights, Near Nelson, Lancashire. Using an old browser means that some parts of our website might not work correctly. Pike Low, Near Briercliffe, Burnley,Lancashire. Source Historic England Archive BB83/04456. Grounds are partly accessible from Bridestones car park. There are numerous reports of ghostly sightings and otherworldly apparitions connected to the stones. IP Address: 69.163.250.162 The whole complex is now just over 100 metres in length with the cairn 11 metres in width. Brink Ends Cairn, Near Wycoller,Lancashire. Discover our different types of membership, A walk around the Bridestones offers panoramic views, About Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping, Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping access statement, Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping map, Visiting the Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping with your dog, Things to do at the Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping, The Bridestones has peculiar shaped rocks, heather moorland, ancient woodland and wildflower-rich meadows to explore. i All rights reserved. Find out about listed buildings and other protected sites, and search the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). There were originally four large portal stones, two which stood to the north of the entrance and two to the south. and long barrows, the earthen equivalents of the stone cairns, are recorded in As he started the car up and drove off at speed, he noticed the time on the dashboard 3.05am. Other travel options are bus, car or plane. Free entry to Dalby Forest when you visit car-free. The results are the strange and wonderful shapes left standing today. Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2rio's travel planner. [5], Excavations of the site were done by Professor Fleur of Manchester University in 1936 and 1937, with the aim of restoring the site as much as possible to its former condition.[5]. There remains another place of the same construction but smaller and without any inward partition, about fifty-five yards distance from this. Query: sid=473021467 Many subsequent investigations have been held and the stones have captured the imagination of all those curious about such things. Sinners Well / Gratton Lane Well, Endon, NorthStaffordshire, Tunstall Park Glacial Boulder, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, NorthStaffordshire. 1 The Bridestones are located on the border between Staffordshire and Cheshire (SJ908622), three miles from Congleton and seven miles from Leek on a hill called the 'Cloud' at a height of 820 feet. Two big flanking uprights infront of a roofless burial chamber, curious for its porthole stone: one of only five or so known from the UK. In the present day though there have been a number of people who have married here in recent years. You can find this information in the National Trust members' handbook. c.2.2m square x 1m high and a third chamber was noticed in 1766. One on the North side is broken off, as is part of the other. SJ 9062 6219. the bridestones staffordshire . Originally an earthen mound up to 300 feet (90m) in length running north to east covered the tomb making for a very grand burial mound. User contributions are not fact checked and do not represent the official position of Historic England. The Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych), NorthWales. The Bridestones near Todmorden in West Yorkshire, Lenora's Culture Center and Foray into History. Part of the Alfred Newton and Sons collection. This location is popular with walkers and also off road cyclists and rock climbers. The Marsden Cross, Marsden Heights, Near Nelson,Lancashire. The whole burial chamber was supposedly an impressive 110 metres in length and 11 metres wide. F.ALeyland cites names known in the nineteenth century, like Table Rock and Toad Rock. Over thousands of years, the layers of hard sandstone alternating with softer calcareous layers have been eroded by wind, frost and rain. The area is a blend of open heather, rough pasture, wooded hillsides and grassy dales filled with flowers in summer. The chamber would have been capped by a massive stone slab which no longer exists at the site. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. D is a partition stone standing across the place, about five feet and a half high, and six inches thick. The site was originally 100m long and 11m wide but one of the main stones was removed for road building, revealing the chamber inside. Explore the many ways you can help to support the incredibly rich and varied heritage. Search over 400,000 listed places. The remaining compartment is 6 metres (20ft) long by 2.7 metres (8.9ft) wide, and consists of vertical stone slabs, divided by a now-broken cross slab. Some 500 long cairns The Bridestones is a chambered cairn, near Congleton, Cheshire, England, that was constructed in the Neolithic period about 35002400 BC. Our proprietary formula creates one of the industrys best hold for tamper-proof sealing. Author Paul Bennett in his work The Old Stones of Elmet, says of the Bridestones that it is: A beautiful, remarkable and powerful site of obvious veneration. Pike Low, Near Briercliffe, Burnley,Lancashire. The whole complex is now just over 100 metres in length with the cairn 11 metres in width. Bridestones nature reserve. The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. As he brushed himself down and got his bearings, he noticed his hands were emitting showers of sparks as through charged with electricity. Perhaps the name Bride is very old and derives from the early British Breiad, the Gaelic Braidh, the Icelandic Bryddir and the Danish Bred. He found he was stripped to the waist and without his shoes. The stones may have once been seen as a petrified wedding party. The Bride has also been locally known as the Bottle Neck. Source Historic England Archive BB98/02592. Dun Aengus Fort, Inishmore, Aran Islands, Co. Galway, Southern Ireland (The Republic ofIreland). year. In the 1760s some of the stones were used for the nearby road (Dial Lane), while other stones were used in the building of Bridestones farm; other stones from the monument have ended up in Tunstall Park, Stoke-on-Trent. Sadly, stones that formed the forecourt have been taken away leaving a much smaller monument. [5], The largest single ransacking of the monument was the removal of several hundred tons to construct the nearby turnpike road. farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions. o The whole was covered with long, unhewn, large, flat, free stones since taken away. The Bridestones is a chambered cairn, near Congleton, Cheshire, England, that was constructed in the Neolithic period about 3500-2400 BC.