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<< Our Photo Pages >> The Great Stone (Trafford) - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in England in Greater Manchester

Submitted by vicky on Wednesday, 09 June 2004  Page Views: 16784

Natural PlacesSite Name: The Great Stone (Trafford) Alternative Name: Great Stone of Stretford; Great Stone of Gorse Hill
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.372 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Greater Manchester Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: Manchester  Nearest Village: Trafford
Map Ref: SJ8043395580  Landranger Map Number: 109
Latitude: 53.456605N  Longitude: 2.296142W
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
3 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.
5 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
5

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The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by vicky : The Great Stone, now lies at the northern entrance of Gorse Hill Park in Stretford on the A56 (Chester Road) not far from Old Trafford at SJ804955. It was originally positioned adjacent to the nearby ‘Great Stone Road’ but was moved in 1925. No one is really sure what the Great Stone is, some say it was used as a road marker during the Roman period, others that it is the base of a Saxon Cros... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Natural Boulder/possible cross base in Greater Manchester. The Great Stone, now lies at the northern entrance of Gorse Hill Park in Stretford on the A56 (Chester Road) not far from Old Trafford at SJ804955. It was originally positioned adjacent to the nearby 'Great Stone Road' but was moved in 1925.

No one is really sure what the Great Stone is, some say it was used as a road marker during the Roman period, others that it is the base of a Saxon Cross (it does look very similar to Robin Hood's Picking Rods on Mellor Moor in Stockport) and others that it was used as a Plague Stone with the holes on top filled with vinegar to prevent the spread of infection.

Stretford, as the name implies, was an important crossing point over the River Mersey during Roman times, and presumably much earlier. In an area that is generally lacking in stone, surely this glacial erratic boulder of millstone grit must also have had some significance to prehistoric people, perhaps marking a much earlier trackway?

Update January 2019: For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 76747, which classes this as a probably 10th to 11th century boundary cross base. The Journal of Antiquities also features a page for this site - see their entry for The Great Stone Of Stretford, Gorse Hill, Manchester, which includes a photograph, a description of the stone and local legend. The Journal adds a couple of legends, one of which is: "According to legend and local folklore the holes in the top of the stone were filled with vinegar or holy water, perhaps vinegar in one hole and holy water in the other. Coins given by plague victims were placed in the vinegar to sterilise them; the holy water hopefully cured the victim of the disease."
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The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by TimPrevett : The Great Stone on the west side of Gorse Hill Park next to Chester Road. I was going to investigate the sockets but the colour of the water rather put me off. Next time I visit I'll take something to drain them with! (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by JanT : The Great Stone, which until 1925 stood near to the road of the same name in Stretford, Greater Manchester. It is now at the entrance of Gorse Hill Park, opposite the war memorial, (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by TimPrevett : The Great Stone on the west side of Gorse Hill Park next to Chester Road - visible to the rear of the picture. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by TimPrevett : The Great Stone on the west side of Gorse Hill Park next to Chester Road. With a size 11 shoe for scale. This is definitely a socket stone for crosses. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by TimPrevett : The Great Stone on the west side of Gorse Hill Park next to Chester Road. Park entrance to the rear.

The Great Stone (Trafford)
The Great Stone (Trafford) submitted by TimPrevett : The Great Stone on the west side of Gorse Hill Park next to Chester Road.

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"The Great Stone (Trafford)" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
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Re: The Great Stone by Anonymous on Sunday, 06 December 2015
Has this stone ever been compared with the Flixton Stone? It appears to be the same composition. The Flixton version sits on the corner of Bowfell and Brook Roads and it is far larger in size.
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The Great Stone in Trafford - YouTube clip by TimPrevett on Tuesday, 25 September 2012
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Re: The Great Stone (Trafford) on Google Street View by TimPrevett on Wednesday, 19 September 2012
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Just spotted it here on Street View. Know where to go exactly, now!
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    Re: The Great Stone (Trafford) on Google Street View by Sunny100 on Wednesday, 19 September 2012
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    Yep, that's the stone. Its a bit hidden away, but interesting.
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Re: The Great Stone by Anonymous on Wednesday, 22 June 2011
I went to school at Stretford Grammar which used to be on Greatstone Road.

There are two holes on top, quite small - about 5-6cm? taht are connected.

I read something in Stretford Library about it once, there was a legend that if you could pass a penny from one hole to the other you'd get lucky or something
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Re: The Great Stone by TimPrevett on Thursday, 07 January 2010
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Went past this morning! Saw Great Stone Road, but not had chance to investigate this stone yet - no doubt will do in time!
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Re: The Great Stone by Oswiu on Wednesday, 19 November 2008
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Nothing especially scientific to add, but just for the sake of completion thought I'd thank Vicky for adding it, and refer those interested to the tradition of the Stone having been flung by a Giant, all the way from the fort at Manchester. This cruel and oppressive Tarquin was in battle with Sir Lancelot, and the stone was used as a missile in this contest, the Giant's thumb and forefinger having made the two impressions so clearly visible on it to this day.

As with most Arthurian legends, there are older local traditions underlying the later romanticised versions that have reached others, and some historians have seen a dim memory of an early Anglian chief in struggle with British forces in the region. I read this in Thomson's History of Manchester to 1852, published 1967.
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