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<< Our Photo Pages >> New Farm, Henbury - Stone Circle in England in Cheshire

Submitted by vicky on Friday, 03 January 2003  Page Views: 12744

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: New Farm, Henbury
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.728 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Cheshire Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Macclesfield  Nearest Village: Henbury
Map Ref: SJ887728  Landranger Map Number: 118
Latitude: 53.252089N  Longitude: 2.170821W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
2 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by Vicky : The most convincing example of one of the standing stones from Henbury Stone circle, which can be found to the north-east of the stile on the footpath from Lower Pexhill Road at GR: SJ887728. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Stone Circle in Cheshire

Sadly all that remains of the stone circle at Henbury is a few stones scattered amongst the hedgerows of a field belonging to New Farm, to the east of Lower Pexhill Road.

Attention was first drawn to this important site in the spring of 1970, when the field was ploughed for only the second time in recorded memory. During ploughing, two stones were unearthed, one a small limestone boulder and the other a large millstone grit slab, both glacial erratics around 30 to 40cm in diameter. A search of the field led to the discovery of several other stones, some lying in hedges, others used in a nearby stile.

Large boulders are not commonly found in this locality, so the possibility of them belonging to some kind of prehistoric monument was considered. Investigations began in the north-western area of the field, where the ground rises slightly and where the two buried boulders had been found. Trenches were cut across the crest, revealing a series of 13 pits, 11 of which lay in a circle surrounding one in the centre, the other being outside.

The pits had been cut into the ground surface to a depth of about two feet. Most were filled with either cobbles or soil mixed with ash and charcoal. The only finds were one tiny fragment of flint, two minute pieces of bone and a large chunk of charcoal. The excavators could not be certain that all eleven of the holes contained stones, but concluded that ‘the site would be appropriate for a small stone circle’.

The most convincing piece of evidence that it was a ritual monument used by prehistoric man comes from its positioning in the landscape, however. On the winter solstice (December 21st/22nd) it was observed that a sighting taken through the centre on a north-west / south-east axis pointed to the rising sun over Sutton Common, four miles to the south-east.

One stone of particular note, fitting the dimensions of Rowley’s plan, is located to the north-east of the stile on Lower Pexhill Road, along the hedge line. The surface of this stone is very smooth suggesting it had travelled some distance, possible via a glacier. It is interesting that the circle builders used a mixture of both limestone and millstone grit. In the nearby Peak District all of the stone circles are composed of either one or the other (the local rock).

Access

The site of the circle can be accessed in either one of two ways. The first, which is the easiest for parking but a slightly longer walk, is to take the Gawsworth Road from Broken Cross to the west of Macclesfield until you come to open countryside with a small row of houses on the right. Take the footpath at GR: SJ892725 and follow this across the field and over a small bridge for approximately 700m. Once you have crossed the rickety wooden footbridge, you will find yourself in the field where the circle once stood. Some of the stones which may once have formed the circle can be seen along the hedge line. One of particular note is located close to the fence a few tens of metres to the right of the styal on Lower Pexhill road.

The alternative route is to take the B5392, Lower Pexhill Road, from Broken Cross and access the field via the footpath from this end. However, parking can be difficult from here.

References

G. Rowley “Macclesfield in Prehistory” (1982)

G. Rowley ‘Excavation of a circle at New Farm, Henbury’, TLCAS, volume 78 (1975)

Note: Please note the former site of this stone circle is located on private land but can be easily viewed from the nearby road / public footpath.
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New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by Vicky : Some of the boulders in the hedgerows of the Henbury Stone circle field belonging to New Farm, to the east of Lower Pexhill Road at GR: SJ887728. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by Vicky : The rise in the field at New Farm, Henbury, near Macclesfield where a stone circle once stood at GR: SJ887728. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by postman : A close up of the single stone, I say single stone as there are two smaller less convincing stones closer to the stile, but for reasons unknown I neglected to photograph them. Sorry. (Vote or comment on this photo)

New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by astronomer : Picture courtesy of Google Earth. This site was discovered by the present author [the late Gordon Rowley] at a site now officially known as “Brickbank Farm, Henbury” but actually lying on ground belonging to the nearby New Farm . The discovery came about when, in the spring of 1971, the field at New Farm was ploughed, for only the second time in its known history. During this operation tw... (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by postman : The single stone and an area of open field

New Farm, Henbury
New Farm, Henbury submitted by postman : Peeping through the hedge over the single stone

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.5km WSW 238° Bearhurst Farm* Round Barrow(s) (SJ874720)
 2.1km SW 225° Lower Pexhill Round Barrow(s) (SJ872713)
 2.5km NNE 24° Prestbury Road (Macclesfield)* Ancient Cross (SJ89727511)
 2.7km NE 51° Macclesfield Cemetery* Round Barrow(s) (SJ908745)
 2.7km ENE 61° West Park Boulder* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SJ911741)
 2.8km ENE 60° West Park Crosses* Ancient Cross (SJ911742)
 3.0km E 84° St Anne's Well (Macclesfield)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ917731)
 3.3km NE 55° Beech Hall Round Barrow(s) (SJ914747)
 3.4km NE 52° Lavenham Close* Round Barrow(s) (SJ914749)
 3.5km WNW 299° Birtles Hall Round Barrow(s) (SJ856745)
 4.1km ESE 111° Sutton Hall* Round Barrow(s) (SJ925713)
 4.2km W 267° Capesthorne Hall (SE)* Round Barrow(s) (SJ845726)
 4.2km SE 139° Woodhouse End* Round Barrow(s) (SJ915696)
 4.3km NNE 18° St Peter (Prestbury)* Ancient Cross (SJ9008676910)
 4.4km W 271° Capesthorne Hall (NE)* Round Barrow(s) (SJ843729)
 4.5km SE 130° Broad Oak Farm* Round Barrow(s) (SJ921699)
 4.6km SE 134° Gawsworth henge* Henge (SJ920696)
 4.6km WNW 284° Sodger's Hump* Round Barrow(s) (SJ842739)
 4.7km NNW 327° Great Merestone Marker Stone (SJ86137677)
 4.9km W 272° Capesthorne Hall (NW) Round Barrow(s) (SJ838730)
 5.1km E 85° Macclesfield Common I Round Barrow(s) (SJ938732)
 5.2km E 84° Macclesfield Common II Round Barrow(s) (SJ939733)
 5.5km NNW 331° Golden Stone (Alderley Edge)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SJ861776)
 5.5km NNW 331° Engine Vein, Alderley Edge Copper Mines* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry (SJ861776)
 5.6km NNW 331° Wishing Well (Alderley Edge)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ860777)
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"New Farm, Henbury" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: New Farm, Henbury by Anonymous on Thursday, 15 July 2010
My Uncle Jack Rowley was famous acheologist in Macclesfield, we lived on a farm in Rainow. There is a field on that farm that as a kid we would find lots and lots of Roman coins, clay pipes etc. Jack used to tell us that our farm was once a Roman coach house, modernised in the year 1742.
Jim Rowley
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