More information : SS 727475. Lyn Down; two standing stones. Classified under
Bronze Age. (1)
SS 72654748 Long Stone (NAT). (2)
Numerous stones are depicted and described on the OS 25" (CSL)
when the area was moorland.
It has now been cleared and is arable but two stones have been
re-set in an unploughed patch of ground. That at SS 72724752 is a
slatey pillar 2.2m high, 0.6m wide and 0.2m thick, probably the
'Long Stone'. The other at SS 72724753 is 1.4m high 0.4m wide and
0.3m thick. The 'Long Stone' could well be prehistoric since it is
quite unsuited as a rubbing post though a boundary mark cannot be
dismissed. The lesser stone is of little meaning now that all
others have been removed.
Surveyed at 1:2500 (3)
Two menhirs, re-erected in 1906 in their original holes by Chanter and Worth,when the field was about to be broken for cultivation. The Long Stone had only recently fallen. Other stones then in the field are said to be bound stones of turbary plots.
Two standing stones, clearly those re-erected and planned by Chanter and Worth (4) but removed and re-set in the corner of the field before 1974. Originally about 17.3m apart and orientated WNW to ESE they are now 8.2m apart and orientated N to S. The unploughed patch (3) is now fully part of a currently pasture field.
The southern stone is (contra 3) 0.9m wide, 0.3m thick and 2.2m high. Width and thickness are the same at top and base but the stone is only 0.15m thick half way up (5). (4-5)
SS 72723 47525. Two re-erected standing stones at about 333m OD. on the northern summit of Lyn Down.
On the 1887 (6) and 1904 (7) Ordnance Survey Maps a stone is shown situated at SS 72656 47488 in an area of enclosed moorland on Lyn Down. It is annotated "Long Stone". According to Chanter and Worth (8) in 1906 there were "two `menhirs'....the larger of which is known as the Longstone" at this site. Both stones were fallen at the time of their visit and they helped workmen re-erect them in their original socket holes.
The area has been ploughed for sometime, exactly when is not clear but it was probably shortly after their visit.
The stones have been moved again and re-erected once more some 75m NE of their original position.
Details of the stones. (See 1:2500 map)
A. Present position SS 72723 47525. It now stands 2.1m high above ground level and is 0.9m wide at its base tapering to 0.5m at the top which has partly broken off. It is a maximum of 0.3m thick. This stone is undoubtedly the Long Stone as its description and measurements coincide with those of Chanter and Worth. It is not known when it was removed from its former position at SS 72656 47488.
B. Present position SS 72723 47533. This stone is 1.4m long, 0.5m wide and 0.3m thick. Although earthfast it is leaning to the NE and its top is acutely angled.
Its description and measurements indicate that it is the second `menhir' referred to by Chanter and Worth. Its original position is not clear and the measurements of its distance from the Long Stone do not coincide with any other stones on the Ordnance survey maps.
Note: On the 1987 (6) and 1904 (7) maps 20 or more other stones are sepicted to the north of the Long Stone. These were turbary marker stones," of a different character", (8) used as boundaries for turf cutting allotments. (To avoid confusion they have been treated as a seperate site - See SS74NW 48). (9)
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