These are the “King’s Men”, a circle of 77
weathered pieces of limestone that form part of the Rollright Stones, an
ancient monument on the border between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.
The whole site comprises three distinct
features, namely the King’s Men, the King Stone and the Whispering Knights,
although they do not date from the same time. The Whispering Knights, which is
a dolmen – the stone interior of a burial mound – dates from the Neolithic era and
could have been constructed at any time from 3800 BC to 3000 BC, whereas the
King’s Men were erected during the early Bronze Age at about 2500-2000 BC. The
King Stone is probably later still, at about 1800-1500BC.
For comparison, it is believed that
Stonehenge was built over a period of time that corresponds roughly with that
of the Rollright Stones, namely between 3000 and 2000 BC.
The three parts of the Rollright Stones are
within easy walking distance of each other. The Whispering Knights are about
400 yards down a grassy track from the King’s Men, with the King Stone being in
in a field just over the road from the stone circle (and therefore on the
Warwickshire side of the border).
The Rollright Stones are not as impressive
as those at Stonehenge, but they are much more accessible. You can actually walk up to the King’s Men
and touch them (although there is a superstition that says it is unlucky to do
so!). You can therefore see at close hand how they have been weathered into
strange shapes and you can also examine the lichens that have grown on them
undisturbed for hundreds of years.
The Whispering Knights and the King Stone
are slightly less accessible, in that they are protected by railings. This has
been done to prevent any recurrence of the 19th century habit of
chipping off bits of stone as good luck charms – presumably the “do not touch”
legend did not apply to them!
Speaking of legends, there is of course a
mythological story that accounts for how the stones came to be where they are.
A local king and his men were marching across the high ground when they were
accosted by a witch. She challenged him to take seven strides and he would
become king of all England if he could see the village of Long Compton when he
had done so. However, a spur of land obstructed his view, so the witch turned
him to stone instead.
The same fate befell his men, who had
formed themselves into a circle to wait for the king. As the witch left the
scene she came across a small group of knights who had lagged behind the main
group to conspire to overthrow the king. They were turned to stone as they
stood, whispering to each other for all time.
A visit to the Rollright Stones need not
detain you long, but you can linger and admire the views unencumbered by crowds
of people. You won’t find any visitor facilities, apart from a coin box that
asks you make a £1.00 donation towards the upkeep of the site.
© John Welford
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