Rollright Stones
We accidentally stumbled across the Rollright Stones 2 days before we had planned to see them! We were on our long weekend away in the general area and were trying to make our way to Gloucester Services for some lunch from wherever we were, only we were forced to take a diversion and this diversion led us here. We didn't realise until we drove past, then we double took, turned around, and braced the freezing winds to take a closer look at these legendary cursed stones.
This is a megalithic monument, although technically it is three megalithic monuments, which stand on the boundary between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. Although each set of stones are obviously connected, they are all from different periods. Much like Kit's Coty House, The Countless Stones, and even Nympsfield Long Barrow, the Rollright Stones are Neolithic burial chambers, or at least part of it is.
The oldest set is the Whispering Knights which dates back to the early Neolithic period and is the remains of a Portal Dolmen which is basically what Kit's Coty House looks like, it's just the capstone looks to have collapsed at some point making a 5th standing stone.
You then have the King's Men which is the stone circle which came in the late Neolithic period. There are seventy seven stones that we understand would originally have formed a perfect circle-barrier as all the stones would have been touching but have grown apart with age.
Now the King's Stone is actually the youngest stone here and is a monolith as it is the single stone in this part of the set. This one dates to the Bronze Age, but only just.
All three sets of stones are made of Jurassic Oolitic Limestone which can be found on the Cotswold hills so we know that they were all formed well within the area unlike Stonehenge. The professionals have already noted that there had been human activity at the site prior to the stones being set, but obviously the majority of finds date to the settlements that erected these stones. However, different things were found around each stone. The King Stone when excavated revealed snapped flint bladelets and a broke arrowhead, all discarded as rubbish as otherwise they'd have been reused. You can tell this from the lack of joins to the flint apparently. They also found a cremation that had been marked by an upright post close to the King Stone and then the 18th century brought a discovery of a small barrow to the north west of this stone which was later destroyed by a plough. When they excavated in the 1980s they found several human cremation deposits and a 'tunnel' cremation that had been marked by a large rectangular post. This unusual cremation was a mixture of cremated bone and charcoal in a small cave like hole that had been hollowed out of the side of a rock pit. This was then blocked by another stone and the post placed in the pit. To the west of the King Stone it was found that a new agricultural settlement had been established due to the pottery found.
The Whispering Knights is not a long barrow, but it is a circular burial cairn. It was a natural knoll that the settlement seemed to have taken advantage of. While the central chamber has never been investigated it as been found that there was secondary cremations on top of the cairn and a child's tooth survived cremation and was found.
Later on in the history of the stones the site was recognised as 'special' places, more likely indicating a more spiritual connection to the earth, much like Stonehenge. Because of this, the site has attracted many different sorts of people with many different sorts of beliefs and even has the reputation of a witches curse, but this goes back as early as the Saxons as their pagan communities came here. The 19th century uncovered grave goods dating back to the Saxons which indicated a cemetery. They found a cremation urn, beads, a bracelet, and with a buried young woman, a long handled bronze pan and a silver incrusted box which showed she was of importance. This cemetery was at the heart of a junction that led to three different parishes, but this indicated that the stones were the primary meeting point and therefore of significance to the pagan community.
In the 12th century the stones were first recorded in the written word- or at least surviving copies exist. They are referred to in the Wonders of Britain which also mentions that the locals refer to the site as Rollendrich, but we dont know why that is. We do know that this is the name of the stones as they appear in Assassin's Creed so we're not certain that this is a historical fact or someone messing with history for the sake of a game.
We do know that the stones assisted in the war effort though. The stones sit on a vantage point within the Cotswolds and so in WWII a Royal Signals Corps post was sited by the King Stone to watch for enemy aircraft.
Now we turn to the origins of the name Rollright. Much like Kit's Coty this has been left to interpretation as the original meaning has been lost. Some think it derives from the Old English 'Hrolla' and 'landriht' which literally means the landright property of Hrolla. However, some thing it dates back even older to the Celtic language and 'rod', 'land', and 'ricc' which loosely translates to wheel arena so relates to the stone circle.
Now for the most interesting bit, the legends surrounding the stones.
In a nutshell, the stones are supposed to be a historic king and his army. Legend has it the king was leading his men through the Cotswolds when a witch challenged him. If he could see the village of Long Compton after seven strides then he would become King of England.
The king strode forth and on his seventh stride a mound rose up and blocked his view. The witch cursed the king and his men, exclaiming 'Rise up stick, and stand still stone, King of England thou shalt be none!' and thus they turned into stone where they stood.
The King's Stone standing on his rise alone is of course the king, The King's Men standing in their circle is of course his men, and The Whispering Knights are the knights who stood by to plot. The Witch herself is said to have turned herself into an elder tree and it is said that if the tree is ever cut down then the spell will be broken and the stones will turn back to man.
Lord knows what beef that witch had with the king, but to sacrifice herself alongside them, twas a bit strange. We think perhaps it could link to King Arthur, perhaps this is where he disappeared to. His faithful knights nearby, his men standing by in habit around a round table, and the king himself unable to back down from a challenge. Of course this theory is solely our own and there is no evidence to say King Arthur was ever in the Cotswolds, however Wales and King Arthur's Cave isn't massively far away either!
This site holds more legends than just cursed kings though. It is said that it is impossible to count the stones in the circle three times in a row and get the same number. However, if it is anything like the Countless Stones by Kit's Coty then something bad will happen if you try, so we did not.
It is also said that the Whispering Knights come alive at midnight and walk to water or specifically on a certain saint's day.
Lastly, the site became popular for childless women in the 19th century. They prayed and touched the King Stone as an omen for fertility.
Regardless, if you are ever in this area then please visit the stones. They are rather a haunting site and when we visited a horrible wind came out of nowhere and it was icy cold and rainy. Didn't stop us from wandering around, but there was a vibe for sure!
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