OS grid reference: SD 99631 41759. A glacial erratic rock at the east-side of Kid Stone Hill, above Long Gate, on Sutton Moor, west Yorkshire. It has been a parish boundary stone and way-marker for a long, long time although the actual boundary is ‘now’ some distance away to the south. There are “possible” faint cup-markings on the flat side of the rock, and at the other side there is a curious granite memorial stone to a local sheep farmer and a yew tree within some iron railings. The ‘Kid Stone’ might get its name from ‘a young goat’, or maybe some other localized name – similar perhaps to ‘Buck Stone’, ‘Cat Stone’ and ‘Wolf Stones’ to name but a few on the moor. To reach the stone: follow the footpath from Buckstone Lane towards Hitchin Stone, then south-east towards Quicken Stone, and then via off east across the moor onto Kid Stone Hill – the stone is in front of you. Or take the footpaths going north-west from Long Gate just above Far Slippery Ford.

   The weather-beaten glacial erratic boulder known as ‘Kid Stone’ stands on the eastern-side of Kid Stone Hill, on Sutton Moor. It stands upon the windswept moor at around 352 feet and is over 1,100 feet above sea-level. Originally this large gritstone rock marked the parish boundaries of Sutton and Newsholme, but today this boundary is a hundred yards or so further to the south. Geologically speaking the boulder was deposited here by a retreating glacier moving in south-ward direction some 12,000 years ago; this glacier is sometimes re-ferred to locally as ‘the Giant of Rombald’s Moor’ – to the north-east – as it came from there, although the boulder might have been scooped up from somewhere else along the way! The boulder is heavily worn, cracked, and has large grooves and channels running down its sides due to weather-related erosion (lots of rain). On its flat face there are a few “possible” faint cup-marks, or are these perhaps just more signs of erosion? 

   At one side of the boulder, inside some iron railings, there is a small yew tree growing and down at the base an odd/curious granite memorial stone to a local sheep farmer, Walter Rochester Airey, who died in 1994, but in what circumstances is not known. He lived at the farm back up the lane: New Bridge Farm on Buckstone Lane, Sutton-in-Craven. The memorial message on the stone says:- “In Loving Memory of Walter Rochester Airey, d 1994.”

Sources of information and related websites:-

https://www.sutton-in-craven.org.uk/historyDR.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton-in-Craven