Old Coking Ovens or kilns beside the Canal near Oswaldtwistle. Photo courtesy of the late Donald Jay.

NGR: SD 7375 2848. An Industrial Heritage and Archaeological site located beside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Oswaldtwistle, about halfway between Accrington and Blackburn, Lancashire. Locally known as Fairy Caves, but they are, in fact, coking ovens or kilns, which are still in a reasonably good state of preservation, despite the passage of time. Blackburn Road (A679) runs alongside the canal here, and Church Kirk (St James) can also be seen from here. A wharf (basin) and a short canal arm where the coke and coal were loaded onto barges can still be seen beside the three banks of coke ovens at the northern side of the cut. Nearby is the site of Aspen Colliery, now largely grassed over, although there are some remains still visible, which were all part of the Aspen Valley coal mining complex that opened around 1810 but closed down in 1930, and the associated coking ovens were abandoned at the same time. However, more recently, the more than twenty brick-lined and grass-covered ovens, which resemble conical-shaped beehives, have become ‘a place of exploration and adventure’ for local children who call them “fairy caves”. In 1977, the site was placed on a schedule for preservation and subsequent listing.

Rowland Joynson, writing in 1975, gives some very useful information regarding the Aspen Valley’s ‘fairy caves’. Mr Joynson says that: “Oswaldtwistle Civic Society have had under consideration the question of the future preservation of some old “beehive”coke ovens. They are on the site of the former Aspen Valley Colliery. 

“Most people think of that site as being in Church, but it is actually in Oswaldtwistle, although it is on the border of the area designated for the Church Centre Action Plan.

“Mr Jack Broderick, the secretary of the Hyndburn Local History Society and myself, knowing that the local Civic Society were interested in these remains, decided to go over to Aspen Valley to have a look at the site. The area has become an obvious playground for children, who have no idea of their origin and purpose, not for that matter have many adults. There were some children actually playing there when we arrived, although they quickly disappeared except for one boy. He said the children called them the “fairy caves”— and so indeed that is what they look like to all intents and purposes. There is no doubt whatsoever that children play hide and seek in them, and there are, of course, the inevitable scrawlings on the walls in several places. The small boy who followed us around said it had been more interesting than having been at school. 

“To our surprise, the former coke ovens turn out to have survived in a remarkably good state of preservation. Our feelings were that at the least nothing should be done to destroy them and that if possible they should be protected. Whether they are of great importance to industrial archaeology, it would be for the trained industrial archaeologists at university level for instance, to say, but there are good grounds for believing that they are of some archaeological importance. They are certainly mentioned in Owen Ashmore’s  “Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire”, which is in Accrington Library.”

Mr Joynson goes on to say that: “Coke, it seems, was originally produced by burning coal in heaps in the open air. The coal was carefully piled and sealed over with slack and set alight. About 1760 coke was produced in an oven. Banks of brick-built ovens, fire-brick-lined and igloo-shaped, each about 12 cubic feet capacity with a door and a chimney in the roof, are known as beehive ovens. The process was to fill the oven with coal slack, seal the door with fire clay and then ignite the coal. With a controlled air intake combustion was completed in about 48 hours. Not all the ovens in the bank were coking at the same time. The heat from two out of a bank of eight was directed through a system of intercommunication flues to preheat the other ovens before firing commenced, thus making the most economical use of the heat before it was wasted through the chimney. The end of the 19th century saw the distillation of coal in coal-heated retorts. Crude gas was given off and the residue was coke. Tar and ammonia products were then produced in the purification process of the crude gas.

“Owen Ashmore in his book, says that the beehives were usually grouped in batteries of at least three, and that these were sometimes at the collieries themselves. He then points out that ovens were often built near canals for convenience of transport, and it is in this connection that he mentions the ovens on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Church.

“We counted two banks of ovens with 17 in each. Some are in a better state of preservation than others. Beyond, there is a smaller site of seemingly four or five ovens. These are in an excellent state of preservation and the glazing of the brickwork caused by the intense heat of the oven is well preserved. Here also there is an interesting tunnel which was apparently the ventilation shaft which carried the heat from one oven to another. The brickwork inside looks quite polished, and it would not be surprising if children wriggle through it. It looks an open invitation to something of that kind.” Nevertheless, walking on top of the ovens is not without its dangers. There are holes in the turf where the chimneys have formerly penetrated. At one place there is a fairly large square hole which seems to have been the base for a fairly large chimney to serve the whole battery.”

Mr Joynson adds to the above. He tells us that:“At Aspen there is an inlet from the canal near the former colliery which would allow for the loading of coke onto canal barges.” This basin may have been partially filled in. Miss W. Hogan, the Secretary of Oswaldtwistle Civic Society, tells me that she thinks it has been partly filled in at some time by British Waterways. Whether this is so or not, the site is very weed-grown, marshy and choked with rushes. How deep the mud is goodness knows. But one would imagine it might be dangerous if a child penetrated into it. The wooden bridge over the entrance to the former quay looks very frail. I walked across it gingerly when I went along the embankment last Summer, but on this last visit we did not venture to cross, nor did some people who came walking along the embankment during the afternoon. They preferred to walk around the weed-grown former quay.”

And finally, Mr Joynson tells us more about the former Aspen Colliery: “The former [Aspen] colliery shaft looks as if it may have been filled in either wholly or partially. There is certainly a pile of rubble on the top, but there is a firm fence round it with a newly-posted notice, “Danger, keep out”. The site, Miss Hogan tells me, is owned by Hyndburn Council, but there is a small electricity substation nearby. One has to admit to having spent a most fascinating afternoon wandering about [the] site. The old flywheel mounting of the colliery is still in existence and some of the bricks lying about bore the inscription “St John’s Colliery”. According to Mr. David Hogg’s “History of Church and Oswaldtwistle”,  Aspen pit was sunk in 1869, Rhoden in 1889 and Town Bent in 1892. All this followed the closing of pits on the uplands where the accessible seams were exhausted, Bank Moor and Belthorn having closed in 1853. In 1909 water from the old workings at Bank Moor burst through and eventually flooded Aspen Mine. One boy was killed and 21 trapped underground for some time. Miss Hogan, however, tells me that she understands the colliery remained in existence until 1920, when it was closed because of flooding. I myself seem to have some recollection of seeing the old pit cage there when passing on the railway nearby.”

Richard Peace, writing in 1997, gives directions for the coke ovens: Access: Just off the A679 running north of Oswaldtwistle, wedged between the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the railway line. Cross over the canal by the bridge at map ref: SD 734284.”

Sources & References:-

Joynson, Rowland,  Join Joynson, Clough & Son, Great Harwood, Lancs, England, 1975.

Peace, Richard, The Curiosities of England – LANCASHIRE CURIOSITIES, The Dovecote Press Ltd., Stanbridge, Wimborne, Dorset, 1997.

Welsh, Mary, Walks from the LEEDS-LIVERPOOL CANAL, Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, 1996.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1016943

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspden

More info here: https://digspag.org.uk/aspen-coke-ovens-walk/.

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/record.xhtml

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2025.

Saint Winifred’s Well at Holywell, North Wales.

NGR: SJ 1854 7634. St Winifred’s Well (Ffynnon Gwenffrewi), a Roman Catholic and Orthodox shrine and pilgrimage centre is located on Greenfield Street in Holywell (Treffynnon), Flintshire (Sir y Fflint), North Wales. St Winifred was the daughter of Thenith ap Eylud and Gwenlo of Tegeingl. Legend says that in the early 7th century AD a spring of clear healing water gushed forth where St Winifred (Gwenfrewy) was martyred after she rejected the advances of Prince Caradoc ap Alyn of Penarlag (Hawarden), after which she was restored to life by her uncle, St Beuno. Sometime later Thenith and St Beuno sent Winifred to Gwytherin on the river Cledwin near Conway, to be educated by St Elerius, her cousin, and where eventually she would succeed St Theonia, mother of St Elerius, to become abbess of a nunnery. Many miraculous cures have taken place at the well, all of which have been ascribed to the healing water which still gushes forth from deep underground. Crutches were left behind at the well after pilgrims were healed of their infirmities. St Winifred was said to have died at Gwytherin in 650 and to have been buried in the churchyard there. St Winifred’s feast day is held on the 3rd of November. The relics of St Winifred were translated to Shrewsbury Abbey in the 12th century, but a fingerbone was given to a Roman Catholic convent in Holywell.

Statue of St Winifred at St Winifred’s Holy Well

The holy well of St Winifred first became a place of pilgrimage in the 12th century, while the Perpendicular (Gothic) building and star-shaped well chamber with its vaulted ceiling and carvings on bosses dates back to the late 15th century. Depicted on the carved bosses on the fan-vaulted ceiling are St Beuno, Earl Stanley and Lady Margaret Beaufort along with other more comical figure carvings. The chapel that stands above the well was built by a royal beneficiary, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby and mother of King Henry VII between 1486-1500. The saintly Lady Margaret (1443-1509) also built three other churches in northeast Wales. There is a very fine life-size statue of St Winifred at one side of the well building; she is depicted with a crown of martyrdom on her head and holding a palm branch in one hand (signifying martyrdom) and an abbesses crozier in her other hand. Today, the holy well is still a pilgrimage centre and shrine, with pilgrims starting their walk here at St Winifred’s Well and traversing the ‘Pilgrims’ Path’ across the rest of North Wales, taking in several other churches and holy wells, which are associated with the Welsh saints: Beuno, Celynnen, Cybi and Digain – amongst others.

St Winifred’s Well crypt by J. Ingleby (Creative Commons).

Robin Melrose writing in 2016 tells us about St Winifred of Holywell. He says that:- “Wales’ most famous female was undoubtedly Gwenfrewi, better known as Winifred and associated with Holywell in Flintshire, northeast Wales. According to the 14th-century Life of St Beuno, which draws on material from Robert of Shrewsbury’s 12th-century life of St Winifred, Winifred was the only child of noble parents, and a virgin. One Sunday, whilst her parents were at church, the local ruler Caradog tried to rape her. Escaping, Winifred fled towards Beuno’s church: As she reached she reached the door of the church, he caught her up and struck off her head with his sword, which fell into the church while her body remained outside. Beuno and her mother and father saw what had happened, and Beuno stared into the face of the king and said “I ask God not to spare you and to respect you as little as you respected this good girl.” And in that moment the king melted away into a lake, and was seen no more in this world.

“However, Winifred miraculously survived this fatal blow: Beuno took the girl’s head and placed it back with the body, covering the body with his cloak and saying to her mother and father who were mourning for her: “Be quiet for a little while and leave her as she is until the Mass is over.” Then Beuno celebrated the sacrifice to God. When the Mass was finished, the girl rose up entirely healed and dried the sweat from her face; God and Beuno healed her. Where her blood fell to earth, a spring was formed, which even today still heals people and animals from their illnesses and injuries.

“The spring formed from the girl’s blood is St. Winefride’s well in Holywell, a popular center of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, and still a center of pilgrimage today. The legend of Winefride is fantastical, but there was a real Winefride. She was related to the royal family of Powys: Beuno was actually her uncle; and St Tenoi, whom she succeeded as abbess of Gwytherin, her great-aunt. Most revealingly, she had a brother Owain, who killed Caradog in revenge: indicating that, whatever the exact truth of her death-and-resurrection legend, it does have a basis in historical fact. Winefride eventually became abbess at Gwytherin on the River Cledwen in Conwy, north Wales, where she died. Her grave there was a place of pilgrimage until her body was taken to Shrewsbury in 1138. Recently “a fragment of an eighth-century reliquary from Gwytherin, the Arch Gwenfrewi (Winifred’s Casket), was found, witnessing her status as a recognised saint almost from the moment of her death in c.650 – with the earliest such surviving evidence for any Welsh saint”. It is possible that Gwytherin was the original center of her cult – the first mention of Holywell was in 1093, and the holy well and chapel date from the 15th century.”

Janet & Colin Bord (1986) tell us more about the well and they say: “The people who visited holy wells in the hope of a cure clearly believed that the wells had the power to cure, and the long survival of holy wells demonstrates the strength of this belief. Successful cures reinforced the belief, being remembered, retold and sometimes recorded. The famous St Winefride’s Well at Holywell (Flint) has seen many cures. In 1606 Sir Roger Bodenham visited the well and obtained instant relief from a painful disease of the feet after every known medical remedy had been tried. In the nineteenth century a pamphlet was published entitled ’Authentic Documents relative to the Miraculous Cure of Winefred White, of  Wolverhampton, at St Winefred’s Well, alias Holy well, in Flintshire, on 28th June, 1805, with Observations thereon’, describing how a paralysed servant girl was cured after a pilgrimage to the well. More recent cures are recorded in the Catholic press from time to time, as in 1916 when Scotsman John MacMullan’s cure of a chronic spinal disease was reported in the Catholic Times and Catholic Opinion. However, not all pilgrims to Holywell have left cured, the unfortunate Sir George Peckham having actually died at the well.  According to an account of his life, he had ‘continued so long mumbling his paternosters and Sancta Winifreda ora pro me, that the cold struck into his body and after his coming forth of that well he never spoke more.”

Audrey Doughty wrote in 2001 about St Winifred’s Well and she says that: “Ffynnon Wenfrewi or St Winifred’s Well at Holywell is recorded in rhyme as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Wales’ and the town, as both its Welsh and English names suggest, grew up because of it. It was widely known throughout Britain with pilgrimages reputedly being made here from as early as the 7th century. The well was in Norman hands for a century and a half or so, after the Countess of Chester granted it to the St Werburg Monastery in 1093 but, by 1240, Dafydd ap Llywelyn bestowed it upon Basingwerk Abbey in whose hands it remained until 1537.

“Many titled people made pilgrimages to St Winifred’s and it was sometimes favoured by the English monarchy. Richard I visited it in 1189; it seems probable that Henry V did so in 1416, and that Edward IV followed in both their steps. Financial assistance towards the cost of a priest was granted by Richard III and in the 15th century the Countess of Richmond built an ornate Gothic chapel over it. In 1686 James II and his queen went to the well to ask that a son be born to them and, wonder of wonders, a son was born in 1688.

“Known as the ‘Welsh Lourdes’ for its miraculous cures, the well inspired many a bard and painter, and sketches and engravings of it were popular throughout Britain. As has been said previously, the well of St Winifred even managed to survive the Reformation because the chapel was too famous and, more to the point, far too lucrative. The sum of ten pounds was received in offerings at the well in 1535 alone but, for a while at least, the Protestants gained little from it. The Catholics endeavoured to get their hands on the money by soliciting offerings in boxes that were then taken into the well chapel. The assembly was told that it was better to give the money to them rather than the king – a practice that the lessee, not unnaturally, did his best to stop. As Protestants and Catholics congregated in their thousands, the powers that be decided that, for the most part, it was better to turn a blind eye to the religious rituals and sit back and take the money. However, ‘big brother’ was always ‘watching’. A record was kept of the numbers and names of Catholics who turned up on St Winifred’s Day in 1629. The consequence was that the Chief Justice of Chester issued orders – which he attempted to enforce – to prevent any further pilgrimages. In 1637, the iron posts around the spring were removed and the image of St Winifred ‘spoiled’.

Chris Barber, writing in 1987, tells us that: “This is the most famous of all Welsh healing wells and according to tradition the waters have been flowing for nearly thirteen hundred years. During that time it has been visited by throngs of invalids. It may be claimed that the town of Holywell  owes not only its name but its very existence to the well. In 1880 an American visitor, Wirt Sykes, wrote: “This well discharges twenty-one tons of water per minute, feeds an artificial lake, runs a mill and has cured unnumbered thousands of human beings of their ills for hundreds of years. It is surely one of the wonders of the world, to which even mystic legend can only add one marvel more.”

To be continued…………..

Sources/References and associated web links:-

Barber, Chris, Mysterious Wales, Paladin, London, 1987.

Bord, Janet & Colin,  Sacred Waters, Paladin Books, London, 1986.

Doughty, Audrey, Spas And Springs Of Wales, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, Wales, 20012.

Melrose, Robin, From Sacred Waters and Pagan Goddesses to Holy Wells, PublishNation, 2016.

https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/st-winefrides-chapel-and-well

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Winefride%27s_Well

More info here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Winifreds_Well_by_J_Ingleby.jpg

https://www.mythslegendsodditiesnorth-east-wales.co.uk/st-winefrides-well

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2025.

Grianan of Aileach Stone Fort on Inishowen Peninsula, Republic of Ireland.

Image from The Journal of The Royal Soc. of Antiquaries of Ireland 1915. (Wikipedia Commons).

Irish Grid Reference:  C 3664 1972. On the summit of the 800-foot-high Greenan Mountain at Carrowreagh on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, is the virtually intact ancient stone fort known as ‘The Grianan of Aileach’ or ‘Greenan Fort’ (a stronghold of the Ulster royal family), which is a well-preserved ringfort dating from around 1700 BC and inhabited up until at least the end of the 11th century AD. St Patrick was said to have preached the gospel at the fort in the 5th century. In the late 8th century AD the fort was probably rebuilt. From the monument there are good panoramic views of the Inishowen Peninsula and two Irish lochs; Swilly and Foyle. The Grianan fort is located near the N13 Letterkenny road, 5 miles northwest of Derry (Londonderry) and 7 miles southeast of Fahan. Legend tells us that the fort was partly or wholly destroyed at the beginning of the 12th century by a Munster chieftain in revenge for the kings of Ulster having destroyed his royal palace some years previously. However, the fort was restored more or less to its original layout and structure in the late 1870s by a local antiquarian, despite there being another local legend saying “that it would never be rebuilt” as all the stonework had apparently been taken away in order to stop such a thing ever happening again. The site is in the care of Heritage Ireland.

Richard Jones writing in 2005 tells us that: “Grianan of Aileach occupies a spectacular location on top of Greenan Mountain, which at 245m (803ft) high provides fine views over loughs Swilley and Foyle, and is a truly impressive and impregnable ring-fort, or cashel, steeped in mystery. Its name has been translated as ‘Stone Palace of the Sun’, ‘Fortress of the Sun’ or even ‘Stone Temple of the Sun’. Although it has been heavily restored, its origins are most certainly ancient and stretch far back into the foggy mists of time. It is thought to date from around 1700 BC and has the distinction of being one of only five sites in Ireland that are marked on the Egyptian geographer Ptolemy’s (c 90-168) 2nd-century map of the world.

“From the 5th to the 12th centuries the fort was the stronghold of the O’Neill kings of Ulster. There is a tradition that the fort was destroyed in 1101 by Murtogh O’Brien, the ruler of Munster in retaliation for the O’Neills having destroyed his royal seat at Kincora some 13 years previously. O’Brien demanded the annihilation of his enemy’s stronghold, and to ensure that it could not be rebuilt he instructed each of his soldiers to take a stone away from the fort as they left. Grianan of Aileach was finally reconstructed between 1874 and 1879 by Derry antiquarian Dr Walter Bernard, although there is some doubt about the accuracy of the interior restoration.”

Richard Jones also goes on to say: “Whether or not the restoration is true to the original layout, there can be no doubt that the site itself is both magical and impressive. According to legend it was constructed in Ireland’s ethereal past by Dagda the god-king of the mystical Tuatha de Danann to protect the grave of his murdered son Aedh. Another tradition holds that the Cashel was the palace of hibernation for the Celtic sun goddess, Graine, and as such was once a place of sun worship. Whatever its original, it is difficult not to be moved by this windswept place. You feel dwarfed by its mighty walls which stand 5m (17ft) high and 4m (13ft) thick, and you come away believing implicitly that this mystical place of rare beauty could only be the work of Ireland’s ancient gods.”

Treasures Of Britain (1968) tells us that Grianan of Aileach is: “A large, well preserved, though much restored drystone circular fort, probably dating from the 5th to the 12th century. It consists of three outer rings of defences surrounding the fort proper, with three internal stepped terraces and stairways. There are galleries in the thickness of the wall.” 

Island’s Own Magazine says of the stone fort: “It is one of the royal sites of Gaelic Island. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the Grianan was originally erected by the De Dananns under their king, Dagda, about 1700 BC. Its primary purpose is supposed to have been sun worship, hence the name. According to legend, St. Patrick visited the Grianan and preached the gospel in 442 A.D. Following the Battle of Clòtteach in 789 A.D. it is thought that the Grianan of Aileach may have been built to celebrate Cenél nÉogain’s victory over its rivals – inside the pre-existing prehistoric hillfort as a visual symbol of their new mastery. The Grianan commands panoramic  – and strategically important – views of important Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle waterways. The Grianan of Aileach ceased to be a royal residence in 1101, however, the fort was restored by Dr. Walter Bernard during 1874 to 1878, including the walls and main stone features.” 

Sources / References & Related Websites:-

Ireland’s Own Magazine (Various publication dates), Channing House, Rowe Street, Wexford.

Jones, Richard, Mystical Britain And Ireland, New Holland, London, 2005.

Treasures of Britain, AA Treasures of Britain, Drive Publications Limited, London, 1968.

https://heritageireland.ie/unguided-sites/grianan-of-aileach/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grianan_of_Aileach

Image from Wikimedia Commons:- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Journal_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_Ireland_(1915)_(14779372521).jpg

More info here: https://www.irishhistory.com/ulster/county-donegal/an-grianan-of-aileach-co-donegal/

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2024

Cup mark on boulder near Buck Stone Lane, above Cowling.

NGR: SD 9847 4265. In a field close to Buck Stone Lane about halfway between the villages of Cowling and Sutton, West Yorkshire, there is a large gritstone boulder with a single cup mark carving on it. This large, earthfast glacial erratic boulder is a prominent landmark close to the public footpath which runs between Buck Stone Lane and the monument called Wainman’s Pinnacle, and, can be reached from the small car park at the side of the lane. It is approx. 50 m to the N. of the lane. On the upper side of the boulder there’s a large single cup marking, and, there may be a couple of smaller cups on the lower part of the boulder, but, these must be regarded as “possible cup marks”; there are also some features on the top of the rock that are very likely due to weather-related erosion. There are two more smaller boulders further along the footpath. Is this particular cup-marked boulder the actual ‘Buck Stone’ after which the lane is so named, or, is that stone somewhere further along the lane or on the moor nearby?

These rock art carvings which usually appear as small circular depressions on rocks (they can be larger circular depres-sions too) are also known as petroglyphs, and they date from the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age, but nothing is actually known about what their purpose was for, and why they were carved; some think they are maps showing where springs, caves, settlements and other features are located, while others think they are maps of the stars in the night sky. These cup and concentric ring designs are similar to the carved mazes and may be linked to those features. There are other rocks and boulders bearing cup marks or cup and ring marks a few miles to the south such as William Walker’s Stone, Winter Hill Stone, Greystones Farm and Cob Stone. See the relevant site pages.

Related site pages:-

See here: https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2021/08/03/william-walkers-stone-far-slippery-ford-newsholm-dean-near-oakworth-west-yorkshire/

Winter Hill Stone: https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2014/09/14/winter-hill-stone-keighley-moor-west-yorkshire/

Grey Stones Farm: https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2016/10/13/greystones-farm-cup-marked-rocks-near-newsholme-dean-west-yorkshire/

Cob Stone: https://thejournalofantiquities.com/2016/10/19/cob-stone-near-far-slippery-ford-newsholme-dean-west-yorkshire/

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2023.

The West Kennet Long Barrow. Photo by troxx. Wikimedia-Commons.

West Kennet Long Barrow Entrance.

NGR: SU 1051 6775. Located in the grassy meadows and along a footpath across the river Kennet, 850 metres (uphill) to the southeast of Silbury Hill, in Wiltshire, and near the Beckhampton-Bath Road (A4) is the West Kennet Long Barrow, a megalithic chambered tomb dating from the Neolithic age of prehistory. It is the best-known, and the best preserved, of all the Neo-lithic long barrows in Britain. The entrance (portal) to the long mound has very large stone slabs set up against its facade; the original entrance was blocked by large stones, while inside the stone-lined passageway leads to four burial chambers or side chambers (and one large chamber at the far end) which once contained the skeletons and grave goods of some 46 individuals from the stone age 3,700 to 2,000 BC.

Old photo with a view of West Kennet Long Barrow from a distance.

The site, near Marlborough, is just one part of a much larger ancient complex of megalithic monuments, including Avebury, Silbury Hill, Stonehenge, Windmill Hill and Durrington Walls among others. The chalk and boulder-built long barrow was partially excavated in the middle of the 19th century, but, proper Archaeological excavations took place in the mid 195os at which time four burial chambers were excavated. After those more recent excavations, the long burial mound was restored to what it probably originally looked like. It is approximately 347 feet (106 metres) in length and nearly 8 feet (2.4 metres) high. Its chambers extend up to 40 feet (12 metres), while the now silted-up quarry ditches at either side of the barrow are some 30 feet away, but, were originally 12 feet deep and 20 feet wide. The site is in the guardianship of English Heritage but is managed on their behalf by The National Trust. There is “free” access inside the chambered long barrow during daylight hours. Another long barrow at East Kennet (NGR: SU 1163 6685) is on private land about 1½ miles to the southeast at Manor Farm, but, it is not as famous or as well-known, and it has trees growing out of it!

The National Trust & English Heritage publication of 1995 says regarding The History of the site: “It was recorded by John Aubrey, who included a sketch in his unpublished Monumenta Britannica of c1665, and described it ‘on the brow of the Hill, south of West Kynnet, is this monument, but without any name. It is about the length of the former [a barrow near Marlborough]; but at the end, only rude greyweather-stones tumbled together; the barrow is about half a yard high’. William Stukeley made more accurate drawings of the barrow between 1720-24, showing the ditch and the stones. Both Aubrey and Stukeley recorded that the barrow was regularly dug into by a local doctor, probably to supply bones for potions and medicines. Stukeley wrote: “‘Dr Took as they call him, has miserably defaced the South Long Barrow by digging half the length of it. It was most neatly smoothed out to a sharp ridge’”. Dr Toope wrote to Aubrey in 1685 telling him of his discoveries at the nearby Sanctuary, where he had found workmen digging up human bones. He wrote “I quickly perceived that they were humane, and came next day and dugg for them, and stored myself with many bushells, of which I made a noble medicine that relieved many of my distressed neighbours.” Aubrey noted that ‘Dr Toope was lately at the Golgatha again to supply a defect of medicine he had from hence’. At the barrow, much of the disturbance found by the 1955 excavations in the forecourt was probably caused by Toope’s diggings. Stukeley called it the ‘Archdruid’s barrow’ and described it as standing ‘east to west, pointing to the dragon’s head on Overton Hill [the] huge stones piled one upon the other … doubtless in order to form a sufficient chamber for the remains of the person there buried’.

“In 1859, Dr Thurnam excavated the central passage and end-chamber of the barrow in his search for skeletal material of the Ancient British (Crania Britannica, 1865). In 1882, the barrow, together with Silbury Hill, came under the protection of the first Ancient Monuments Act, and this finally stopped the damage done by local people digging for chalk or cutting turf from the mound.  The barrow was most recently excavated by Piggott and Atkinson in 1955-56. Thurnam’s report of the single passage and chamber was inconsistent with evidence from other barrows, which had chambers off the main passage. The 1955-6 work revealed that, indeed, four small chambers, two on either side, were preserved as they had been left in the late Neolithic, 4000 years ago.”

The H.M.S.O. publication from 1970 tells us more about ‘The West Kennet Long Barrow’. It says: “This chambered tomb, the largest in England and Wales, lies about half a mile (0.8 km) south-west of the village of West Kennet. It is reached on foot from the Bath road along a path marked by a finger-post.

Two plans of West Kennet Long Barrow,  Wiltshire.

West Kennet Long Barrow (inside the passageway).

“The mound was considerably damaged in the 17th century, and was partially excavated in 1859. The excavation was completed and the tomb restored by the Ministry of Works in 1955-57.  The mound is one of the largest known, measuring 350 ft. (107 m.) in length. It is made of chalk rubble dug out from a ditch on either side, now entirely silted up, piled over a core of sarsen boulders collected from the surface of the surrounding downs. The edge of the mound was originally marked, round the sides and back, by a line of boulders on end, but these have now all disappeared.  The front of the mound at the east end is formed by a façade of large upright stones, with the spaces between them filled with walling of stones brought from seven or eight miles away to the west. In the centre of the façade is a semi-circular forecourt, set back into the mound and bordered by four large slabs set on edge, out of which the tomb chamber opens.  The tomb itself consists of a long passage with two pairs of burial chambers opening off its sides and a larger chamber at the far end. The remains of about thirty skeletons, including ten children, were found on the floors of these chambers, and it is clear that they had been put in the tomb at intervals over a long period of time, the earlier deposits being swept unceremoniously aside to make room for new-comers. A good many bones, and especially skulls, seem to have been taken away while the tomb was still in use. Pottery vessels deposited with some of these burials show that the tomb was used, though perhaps not built, by the Primary Neolithic people. It was probably constructed about 2700 BC, and continued to be used for many centuries. 

“After the last burial had been made, the whole tomb was blocked up in the most elaborate way. The chambers and passage were filled to the roof with chalk rubble containing numerous fragments of broken pottery and animal bones, and when this had been done the entrance-forecourt was first partially filled with boulders and then sealed off with three huge upright stones in line with those of the façade on either side, the centre stone being supported at the back by two uprights which continue the line of the passage. This final blocking seems to have been carried out by the local communities  of Secondary Neolithic and Beaker people, who also built Avebury and the Sanctuary.”

The AA Treasures of Britain (1968) provides more information on the long barrow at West Kennet and the finds. They say it is: “The finest example of many similar Neolithic long barrows, or burial chambers, on the Downs of North Wiltshire, the West Kennet barrow near Marlborough was excavated by Professors Stuart Piggott and R. J. C. Atkinson in 1955-6. The pottery (now in the Devizes Museum) dates from about 3000 to 1600 BC, when the barrow was used for burials by migrant peoples from the Continent who brought with them the knowledge of farming. The pots [found here] were probably used to store grain and milk. Also found was a bell beaker dating from around 2000; two bowls of the Peterborough type; a late Neolithic culture and Windmill type, made by early farmers in Britain around 2500-1800 BC; also part of a Rinyo-Clactonian pot and pieces of broken vessels from various periods of prehistory.”

Sources / References & Related Websites:-

Photo (top left) is by troxx:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Kennet_Long_Barrow_entry.jpg

H.M.S.O., Stonehenge And Avebury, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London, 1970.

The AA, Treasures Of Britain – And Treasures Of Ireland, Drive Publications Limited, London, 1968.

The National Trust/English Heritage, The Prehistoric Monuments of Avebury, English Heritage, London, 1995.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/west-kennet-long-barrow/history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Kennet_Long_Barrow

https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=175&map=1

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/west-kennet-long-barrow/?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Affiliate&awc=5928_1687473422_b8d50561f5552d02d35207261a56e12a

More info here:  https://www.silentearth.org/west-kennet-long-barrow-wiltshire/

And more here:  https://www.mysterious-wiltshire.co.uk/west-kennet-long-barrow/

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2023.

Roman inscribed lead pig from Greenhow, Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire.

NGR: SE 115 648. Back in the 1700s three pigs of lead with Latin inscriptions were dug up at Hayshaw Bank in the Greenhow area of Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, which is just 3 miles southwest of Pateley Bridge. Two of these were made by Roman lead smelters in the late 1st century A.D. On the front side of the two lead pigs is the name of the Roman Emperor DOMITIAN, while on the side of both is inscribed in Latin the shortened form of the name of the local Celtic tribe (at the time). It’s thought the Brigantes tribe were forced into slave labour by the Romans after they were conquered in A.D. 74-75 and then put to work mining lead. The third pig, found in 1860 near Pateley Bridge, was of a slightly later date and in-scribed with the name of the Roman Emperor TRAJAN from the early 2nd century A.D. The three lead pigs were dug up by more recent lead miners who were digging in the rich lead and ore-veined moorland in and around Cockhill, Greenhow Hill, and near Pateley Bridge. The Cockhill & Sunside lead mines and smelt mill situated on Greenhow Hill in Upper Nidderdale was established soon after 1776, but it was not leased until 1781. However, the first recorded lead mine known as ‘Prosperous’ was established in that area about 1606. The two late 1st-century lead pigs eventually found their way to museums, but the early 2nd-century pig was apparently lost.

The Pateley Bridge Local History Tutorial Class writing in 1967 tell us more about Lead and Iron Mining in Upper Nidderdale. They say: “Prominent amongst the natural resources of medieval Nidderdale were lead and iron ores. Thin bands of ironstone in the Millstone Grit series outcrop over a large area of the dale, from Blayshaw Bents, west of Ramsgill, to the vicinity of Knaresborough. There are two main groups of lead-bearing veins, one of which runs in the Millstone Grit, roughly down the line of Ashfold Gill, where the Bycliffe Vein of Grassington Moor is continued in the Stoney Grooves, Merryfield and Providence Vein. The other is found mainly in the limestones on the summit of Greenhow Hill. The thick beds of the Carboniferous Limestone which form the western side of the hill are overlain, around Craven Cross, by the Millstone Grit beds, but come to the surface further east in a series of inliers, in which many veins outcrop. The more prominent of these veins would be noticed by the earliest metal-using peoples of the area. It is, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the vein outcrops were worked by the local Celtic tribe, the Brigantes, and consequently were known to their Roman conquerors, for within a few years of the Roman victory over the Brigantes at Stanwick in 74 AD., the new rulers were smelting lead on Greenhow.

“Three pigs of lead smelted by the Romans have been found in the Greenhow area. Two almost identical pigs, weighing 155 and 156 Ibs. respectively, were discovered in 1735 in a hole in the ground on Hayshaw Bank. On the base of each is the inscription, in raised letters: IMP. CAES. DOMITIANO AVG. COS. VII an abbreviation of ‘“Imperatore Caesare Domitiano Augusto Consule Septimum”’, meaning Emperor Domitian’s seventh term as consul, ie. 81 A.D. The word ‘“BRIG”’, presumably short for Brigantes, is also cast on the side of each pig. Both of them are preserved, one in the British Museum, the other in Ripley Castle. A third pig, found on Nussey Knot, was subsequently lost and all that is known about it is that the inscription included the name of Trajan, who was emperor from 91 to 117 A.D.” Just to note here: I understand the Roman pig of lead that resided in Ripley Castle was later given to The Craven Museum at Skipton.

I.A.Richmond writing in 1963 discusses the discovery of a lead pig from A.D. 74 in Flintshire, northeast Wales, but then goes on to say: “The next group of lead pigs is the small group from Yorkshire, which also carry the tribal name of the area, in the form Brig, for metallum Briganticum. They are found in the area between Nidderdale and Wharfedale, which was much exploited in later medieval times for lead also. The earliest dated example is of A.D. 81, exactly ten years after the Roman acquisition of the area. Another, of Trajan (A.D. 98-117), is imperfectly recorded from Pateley Bridge. It is probable that this was not the only lead-bearing area worked in Yorkshire. There is a good local tradition of Roman exploitation of the Swaledale lead deposits, in particular the Hurst Mine; it is connected with a pig of Hadrian, unfortunately never recorded in detail.”

“It is very probable that the Roman camp at Bainbridge may have served as a centre for the lead trade in the surrounding dales from which men were sent into Swaledale to mine for lead. Tradition relates that Hurst Mines in Swaledale was one of the Roman penal settlements where convicts were sent to work, and that buildings in Jerusalem and St Peter’s in Rome were roofed with lead obtained from the Hurst Mines. Residents of Hurst can still show us an iron ring, leaded into the rock, to which prisoners were chained for misdemeanour”, according to Edward R. Fawcett’s manuscript. Mr Fawcett died in 1939 but his work was edited & published by Brian Lee in 1985.

Sources / References & Related Websites:-

Fawcett, Edward R., Lead Mining In Swaledale (Mss. Edt. by Brian Lee), Faust Publications Co. Ltd., Thorneyholme Hall, Roughlee, Burnley, 1985.

Pateley Bridge Local History Tutorial Class, A History of Nidderdale, (Edt. by Bernard Jennings, M.A. University of Leeds), The Advertiser Press Limited, Huddersfield, 1967.

Richmond, I. A., The Pelican History of England — Roman Britain, Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1963.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhow

Click on here:  https://www.nmrs.org.uk/assets/lookinside/bm60lookinside.pdf

https://www.hdns.org.uk/wildlife-locations/cock-hill-lead-mines/

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/greenhow_eh_2006/

Lost lead pigs

Copyright © Ray Spencer, The Journal of Antiquities, 2023.