NGR: SD 81786 37861. A standing stone-cum-boundary stone located on the Noggarth Ridge above the village of Fence (Wheatley Lane) near Padiham, in Lancashire. The 6 foot high gritstone boulder is situated beside a footpath and is roughly halfway between Croft Top Lane and the Pendle Forest Television transmitter at Noggarth, on the ridge above Spen Brook. It seems the standing stone is not in its original position having been moved a short distance along the ridge. It has some weathering marks on it at one side, which suggests it is an ancient stone, so could it perhaps be from a nearby stone circle that was built back in the Neolithic age. Today the standing stone seems to mark the boundaries of Old Laund Booth and Goldshaw Booth. There is a pile of broken stones opposite the boulder, one, in particular, a shaped pillar tapers at the top and looks very old, although it may have been used for something more recently. From the A6068 (Padiham bypass) head up Guide Lane, then turn right onto Croft Top Lane. Where this lane bends to the south go through the wall-style into the field. Walk along the footpath to another wall-style and continue along the footpath (passing near OS trig point to your left) to reach the standing stone, which is now straight ahead of you.

Local archaeologist and Historian John Clayton (2014) mentions the standing stone on the ridge. He says that “Another stone from the Pendle Ridgeway. This menhir measures almost two metres in height and sits on a parish boundary. However, the stone does not appear to remain in situ having reportedly been moved by the farmer from its original position near to the stone in Fig P126. A ditch marking the parish boundary runs south from the possible ridge-top at C and within 100 metres is a pile of very large stones. The very large upright we saw in Fig P128 now stands close to this pile, having been moved by the farmer from its original home a few hundred metres to the east. As was the case with the upright in Fig P128, the stones within the pile are field clearance. Within the group is a circular flattish stone that would have originally measured around 1.5 to 2 metres across with a thickness of 30cm. There is also a former 1.5m upright, the broken top of another large stone similar to that in Fig P128, and numerous other large flat and rounded stones. The stones within this collection are very similar in size and form to those found within Neolithic burial mound chambers and it is worth asking the question as to whether they have been moved here from the site of a burial monument?” [See John’s book to view photos of this site.]

There is a similar standing stone at The Watermeetings (SD 856 411) at Barrowford, Lancashire, which is called the Cock Hill Stone.

Sources / References & Related Websites:-

Clayton, John A, Burnley And Pendle Archaeology — Part One — Ice Age to Early Bronze Age. Barrowford Press, Spring 2014

https://www.spectroom.com/1022974356-wheatley-lane-lancashire

https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=33171

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2021.