Featured: Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

Lost Secrets - an adventure during Neolithic times

Random Image


Barnenez Cairn

A Little History of Astro-Archaeology £4.99+p&p

A Little History of Astro-Archaeology £4.99+p&p

Who's Online

There are currently, 469 guests and 3 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> The Calderstones - Chambered Tomb in England in Merseyside

Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 28 December 2015  Page Views: 64280

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: The Calderstones Alternative Name: Calder Stones; Caldway Stones; Dogger Stones; Druid's Cross (Allerton); Rodger Stones (Allerton
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.537 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Merseyside Type: Chambered Tomb
Nearest Town: Liverpool  Nearest Village: Allerton
Map Ref: SJ4040287622  Landranger Map Number: 108
Latitude: 53.382067N  Longitude: 2.897437W
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.
3 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

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

DrewParsons radrad would like to visit

yCephei visited on 7th Jan 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5 The stones have moved from the location on the site and are now located in an exhibit at Calderstones Mansion 53.381708, -2.893924 https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/calder-stones-a-new-more-accessible-home/

Hodur visited on 10th Jun 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 2 Access: 5

ChrisHealey visited on 10th Jun 2018 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5 The stones which once formed a dolmen are now for well documented reasons now located arranged in a circle in a locked greenhouse in a public park just south of Liverpool. In some ways it's a shame that they're so removed from their original setting and arrangement, but on the other hand it's fortunate that they have been been protected from being broken up and reused as so many other similar monuments over the centuries have. It would been really nice to have been able to get into the greenhouse and examine the carvings closely, unfortunately this is a rare opportunity and would need to be planned well ahead by contacting their custodians.

Andy B: would like to visit No 1. in Kenny Brophy's Top Ten Urban Prehistory site selections, compiled for our Old Stones book.

MmeSinn saw from a distance



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.67 Ambience: 2.67 Access: 5

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by ThelwallMM : The Calderstones have been relocated within the park, with its own dedicated adjoining exhibition room. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Chambered Tomb in Merseyside (City of Liverpool). These stones once formed part of a chambered tomb in what is now the area of Allerton, six kilometres to the south-east of Liverpool. They lay on an elevated plateau of sandstone, on light, well-drained soils at the head of a small valley, but all that remains of this tomb today are six highly ornamented stones known as The Calderstones.

The Calderstones have been relocated within the park, with its own dedicated adjoining exhibition room, see comments below for more details. They were housed in the Harthill Greenhouses in Calderstones Park having been moved from their previous location in an enclosure just outside the park gates in 1954 to protect them from further decay in the elements.

The Calderstones may once have formed part of a chambered tomb known as a passage grave are profusely decorated with rock art symbols including spirals, concentric circles, arcs, cupmarks, cup and ring marks and footprints.

For more information on the recent history of The Calderstones see Mike Royden's Local History Pages

Update May 2017: For further information see The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) page for Calderstones, Allerton, Liverpool, Lancashire, which gives directions together with a brief archaeology and history of these stones. The TNA page also contains a drawing of the stones from 1825 and an image of the 1889 OS-Map showing the location. The Journal of Antiquities also includes an entry for The Calderstones, Allerton, Merseyside, which includes photographs, a brief history, and a list of reference sources for more information.

Also see Pastscape Monument No. 69670 which gives details of the cleaning, relocation and current siting of these stones. The Calderstones are also scheduled as Historic England List ID 1008531.

Thanks to Vicky Morgan for creating this page.

Note: Detailed photography of the Calderstones from Aerial-Cam
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by vicky : Calderstones (stone e) showing the beautiful spiral on the rear of the stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone C, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone B, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone A, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone F, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone E, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone D, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone C, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone B, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone A, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by dodomad : Calderstones School pupil Connor Hannaway has made history by discovering a unique bird-shaped carving on the Neolithic monuments housed in the park, which can only be seen in certain lights and has so far escaped the notice of archaeologists and historians for hundreds of years. Photo credit: Colin Lane via The Big Dig (6 comments)

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by durhamnature : Drawing of one of the stones, drawing from "Journal of British Archaeology" via archive.org

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by durhamnature

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Sunny100 : A b/w drawing or illustration of The Calderstones passage-grave/chambered tomb at Allerton, Liverpool, from 1824. [I don't know who the artist was, sorry]. The drawing shows three standing stones on a small mound. Quite clearly the cup marks and spirals can be seen on the stones. When the site was excavated in the 1840s three more stones were found along with bones and other fragments. ...

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by vicky : One of the Calderstones (stone a) which once formed part of a chambered tomb, decoarted with a number of spirals. The rock art on the stones most closely resembles that on the passage tombs of the Boyne Valley in County Meath in Ireland, the most famous of which is Newgrange.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone E, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone B, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Aerial-Cam : Calderstones, Stone A, (based on 1957 Forde-Johnson and 2007, 2010 Nash and Stanford). Nash, George & Stanford, Adam, “Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool,” in Merseyside Archaeological Journal, volume 13, 2010.

The Calderstones
The Calderstones submitted by Bladup : The Calderstones.

These are just the first 25 photos of The Calderstones. If you log in with a free user account you will be able to see our entire collection.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.3km SSW 198° Robin Hood's Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SJ3997886383)
 1.7km SW 228° Solomon's Tomb Modern Stone Circle etc (SJ391865)
 2.3km NNW 330° Monk's Well (Wavertree)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ39288959)
 2.7km SE 132° Camp Hill (Woolton) Hillfort (SJ424858)
 6.4km WNW 299° World Museum Liverpool* Museum (SJ348908)
 7.5km SW 231° St Patrick's Well (Bromborough)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ34538295)
 7.5km NNW 331° Modern stone circle on Cherry Avenue* Modern Stone Circle etc (SJ3687894265)
 7.7km SW 225° St Barnabas (Bromborough)* Ancient Cross (SJ3491082212)
 8.5km NNW 327° St Mary (Walton on the Hill) Ancient Cross (SJ35889482)
 10.2km W 278° The Bonks Barrow Cemetery (SJ303891)
 10.3km ENE 68° St Anne's Well (St Helens)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ49969143)
 11.3km E 89° St Luke's Church (Farnworth) Ancient Cross (SJ5171287749)
 11.8km W 281° Bidston Hill Rock Carvings* Carving (SJ288900)
 11.8km SW 222° Raby Mound Round Barrow(s) (SJ32377891)
 13.4km W 262° Arrowe Park standing stones Standing Stones (SJ27058596)
 13.6km SSE 163° St Mary (Thornton Le Moors)* Ancient Cross (SJ44157455)
 14.0km W 274° Overchurch* Stone Circle (SJ264888)
 14.5km NNW 339° St Helen's Well (Sefton) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD35450129)
 14.6km W 265° Greasby Copse Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ25788664)
 15.1km SE 143° Helsby Hill* Hillfort (SJ493754)
 15.1km SW 227° St Mary and St Helen (Neston)* Ancient Cross (SJ29157749)
 15.2km SE 131° Synagogue Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ51687742)
 16.0km SE 137° Woodhouses* Hillfort (SJ511757)
 16.0km NNW 339° Lunt Meadows* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD349027)
 16.1km W 260° Thor's Stone* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SJ2447484933)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Paradolmen Pedres Grosses

Dolmens Scythian Camp >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Robin Heath's Alexander Thom: Cracking the Stone Age Code

Robin Heath's Alexander Thom: Cracking the Stone Age Code

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"The Calderstones" | Login/Create an Account | 30 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Calder Stones: a new, more accessible, home by Andy B on Monday, 02 December 2019
(User Info | Send a Message)
Photos and details at
https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/calder-stones-a-new-more-accessible-home/
including a new blackboard imploring people not to touch the stones - oops!
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by davidgregg on Thursday, 07 June 2018
(User Info | Send a Message)
Hello folks. I have an update for the Calderstones site. I have been checking out hill notches in the Clwydian Hills as seen from the Wirral and Liverpool looking for
significant sunset sites. I found several potential sites on high ridges. To cut to the chase, standing on the original Calderstones tumulus at the winter solstice an observer in the late Neolithic would see the sun set in the Moel Arthur hill notch.
From early prints and old OS maps I also realised that the tomb passage pointed south east, and very close to winter solstice sunrise. Coincidence seems unlikely.

On the sunset line I also found stone rows at two places on the Wirral with winter solstice properties and a third site with sunset and two key moonset properties.
I am currently working on a paper on all this if anyone is interested.

Prof. Dave Gregg
P.S. are the stones in their new home yet?
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by Anonymous on Thursday, 26 October 2017
I was informed in 2011 when I visited, that there was discussion going on that a local developer was trying to get the stones moved..?So glad these stones have remained in place (all be it not their original site) and managed to secure lottery funding to replace the dangerous glass house they used to live in. The original glass house was so dangerous that the public were not able to go inside to view the stones.
Looks great now and I will definitely pop in to get a better look next time I'm passing that way.
The park area was great and my kids loved it.
[ Reply to This ]

The Calderstones on BBC Radio Merseyside by Andy B on Thursday, 14 April 2016
(User Info | Send a Message)
Richard MacDonald writes: Last Friday I had the pleasure of showing BBC Radio Merseyside DJ Sean Styles around The Calderstones.

Sean has long been a champion of Liverpool’s hidden heritage and having heard about The Reader’s plans to move the stones he was keen to get the details and learn more about their importance in Liverpool’s history. Sean said he’d seen the stones many years ago but had never been up close so it was a real treat to allow him access to the greenhouse to appreciate them up close.

You can hear the full interview starting at 1 hour and 9 minutes in, here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03plxy8
[ Reply to This ]

The Calderstones to be restored and resited as part of £2m lottery grant by Andy B on Monday, 28 December 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
'The Reader' at Calderstones secures £1.99million Heritage Lottery Fund investment - including a substantial sum to remove, restore and redisplay The Calderstones.

The Reader will begin work on creating their flagship International Centre for Reading inside Calderstones Mansion House in 2016, having secured a confirmed grant of £1.99million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Building on work that has already taken place on the site since 2013, the Reader at Calderstones project will restore and showcase the heritage of the Grade II listed Mansion House and the Neolithic megaliths known as The Calderstones. These forgotten treasures are older than the Pyramids and will now be brought back into the heart of Calderstones Park and their condition will be significantly improved. Liverpool City Council, National Museums Liverpool and Manchester University have all been consulted as part of the process.

Initial work will begin to secure the building which over the years has fallen into a state of disrepair. Currently hidden architecturally significant elements will be carefully revealed and restored, bringing the building back to life.

A newly created bistro will also allow visitors to relax after their visit and soak up and reflect on the atmosphere of the house.

Dr Jane Davis, Director of The Reader says “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. It will allow us to grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something truly special at Calderstones for the city of Liverpool and beyond. Not only will this mean we can offer more of our reading groups and continue to grow our wellbeing initiatives here but we can carefully bring The Calderstones themselves back to their rightful place at the heart of the park to be enjoyed and cherished by visitors”

Sara Hilton, Head of HLF North West, said: "The Reader is a real Liverpool success story that helps thousands of people get together to share their love of reading. We were hugely impressed by these proposals that will bring an exciting new use to the 19th century Mansion House and help many more people discover the history of the 4000 year old Calderstones. Special thanks must go to National Lottery players for making our investment possible."
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by thereader on Monday, 21 December 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
Hello lovely MP Community,

My name is Richard (the one from the news article) and I work for The Reader Organisation. AS you may be aware we have recently received a pot of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund North West to restore Calderstones Mansion house and to provide a 'new home' for the Calderstones themselves.

For a public monument in a public park in a urban setting they are woefully inaccessible and poorly interpreted. Also the 1960's greenhouse in which they are placed is slowly contributing to their decline through uncontrolled rapid heating and cooling.

I am writing this to reassure members here that we are taking the movement of these stones incredibly seriously, consulting with experts from museums and universities and would be happy for any feedback from this community.



[ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Calderstones by Andy B on Thursday, 24 December 2015
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Excellent stuff Richard, thanks for the update, let us know when you have any more news and if there's anything we can do to help.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Calderstones by Blingo_von_Trumpenstein on Tuesday, 29 December 2015
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Sounds very exciting Richard. All at MP will appreciate your reassurance of consultation before relocation. These are certainly very special stones and their continued reverence fills me with joy. More people than you think have these stones in their thoughts.
    They should be returned to their original positions as can be best determined. I believe their original positioning will have been a matter of lengthy measurement and consideration with sight lines to rising stars, moon and sunrises and sets all precisely calculated and observed from within the tomb. Go on - amaze me...
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Calderstones by Andy B on Monday, 23 April 2018
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    heritagetogether.org Home > User Galleries / Galerïau Defnyddwyr > TheReader > The Calderstones
    http://heritagetogether.org/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=17688
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by SpaceTravellor on Saturday, 25 April 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
Hello,
In my opinion, many Rock Art images depicts astronomical issues as star constellations and astronomical movements. Cup marks represents generally stars and different circles and wheels represent the celestial pole as seen here:

native-science.net/Stars.Constellations.htm">http://native-science.net/Stars.Constellations.htm
native-science.net/NorthPole.Centre.htm

Regards
Ivar Nielsen
Denmark
[ Reply to This ]

Liverpool schoolboy discovers by Sunny100 on Monday, 20 April 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
Calderstones School pupil Connor Hannaway has made history by discovering a unique bird-shaped carving on the Neolithic monuments housed in the park, which can only be seen in certain lights and has so far escaped the notice of archaeologists and historians for hundreds of years.

Year 8 pupil Connor was on a school trip with some of his classmates visting the Calderstones when he made the discovery. Some of the marks on the stones were made as early as 5,000 years ago, and include patterns of spirals, arcs and ring marks. Connor alerted Richard MacDonald, Heritage Stories Maker at The Reader Organisation and the pupils’ tour guide, to his finding when he asked what a bird symbolised.

The exact date of the etching remains unknown, but it is possible that the bird belongs to the later period of markings from the medieval period. What’s so amazing is that the marking has never been recorded in any of the professional papers written about the Calderstones.

See link to Liverpool Echo newspaper http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/liverpool-schoolboy-makes-amazing-historical-9066645 and also
http://caldiesbigdig.org.uk/2015/04/16/connor-unearths-a-calderstones-mystery/
[ Reply to This ]
    Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Andy B on Tuesday, 21 April 2015
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Thanks for letting us know about that one Ray. Also worth posting about The Big Dig

    The Reader Organisation, alongside National Museums Liverpool, is hosting The Big Dig at Calderstones Park between Monday April 27 and Friday May 8.

    It will be the park’s first public excavation, and more than 40 volunteers will join archaeologists in some, quite literally, ground-breaking work as they bid to find further evidence of the earliest settlers to the area.

    And Richard MacDonald says: “We’d like to invite local people to come and join in the community archaeological dig to find out more about the early history of this part of Liverpool. They can register by going to the Big Dig website.

    http://caldiesbigdig.org.uk/
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 21 April 2015
      (User Info | Send a Message)
      That's okay Andy, first heard about this on BBC North-West daytime news, but I have been unable to find a link for that, but 'The Liverpool Echo' seems very good on this "new find" which looks to be the case. I am very, very surprised that the bird carving was missed, although its low down on the stone and difficult to see in certain light and needs to be in shadow, as do most prehistoric carvings. The thinking is that it may, in fact, be an early Christian carving?
      [ Reply to This ]
        Re: Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Andy B on Wednesday, 22 April 2015
        (User Info | Send a Message)
        Yes it doesn't look at all prehistoric to me
        [ Reply to This ]
        Re: Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Andy B on Monday, 27 April 2015
        (User Info | Send a Message)
        Another comment from a newsletter subscriber: I think the bird carving on the Calderstones is modern. The depth of the carving is less than the other depressions surrounding it which show rounded edges caused by erosion or weathering
        [ Reply to This ]
          Re: Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 28 April 2015
          (User Info | Send a Message)
          By modern what would you say:- Early Christian period, medieval, or maybe more recent perhaps? Maybe a Victorian carving?
          [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Calderstones Park Big Dig, April 27th to May 8th 2015 by Andy B on Thursday, 30 April 2015
      (User Info | Send a Message)
      Photos from the Calderstones Park Big Dig being posted here
      https://twitter.com/CaldiesPark
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Liverpool schoolboy discovers "new carving" of a bird by Andy B on Tuesday, 21 April 2015
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    There's also a video at the Echo with Connor being interviewed in front of the Calderstones in their greenhouse, which shows that they have been (at last) taken out of storage and redisplayed rather nicely.
    http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/liverpool-schoolboy-makes-amazing-historical-9066645
    If anyone's going the the Big Dig please send us some photos to update ours
    [ Reply to This ]

The Calderstones of Liverpool by Andy B on Monday, 25 March 2013
(User Info | Send a Message)
Forgotten history hidden in the parks of Great Britain by John Reppion

Article with illustrations and photos at
http://www.dailygrail.com/Guest-Articles/2013/3/The-Calderstones-Liverpool

[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by 4clydesdale7 on Friday, 07 September 2012
(User Info | Send a Message)
For the first 20 years of my life I lived 'within a stone's throw' of the northern entrance to the park - the northern boundary of the park is bounded by Menlove Avenue Liverpool 18 - I used to catch either a No4 or 5 bus into the city with my dear old Mum - we boarded the bus at a stop adjacent to that northern entrance and the Stones used to be in a 'circle' right outside the entrance - the 1840s city map on 'Old Maps' shows where the Calderstones used to be - oh! by the way the school shown to the northwest of the park (on your map) was where Lennon/McCartney were educated - 'Quarry Bank' (hence the Beatles first name 'The Quarrymen') - perhaps that was where the stones were taken from in long ago ancient times - memories!!!
[ Reply to This ]

The Calderstones currently stuck wrapped in plastic due to funding impasse by Andy B on Wednesday, 05 September 2012
(User Info | Send a Message)
John Reppion writes:

Visiting Calderstones Park recently (July 2012) I noticed that the stones were wrapped in plastic and that some work seemed to be being carried out on and in the vestibule. I emailed Liverpool City Council to find out exactly was going on and received the following reply.

Hi John,

Thank you for your recent enquiry.

I’m pleased to confirm that limited remedial works are indeed underway to the former Harthill Vestibule building which currently houses the Calderstones.

Primarily these works aim to improve the environmental conditions and security for the Stones.

Specifically works will reinstate the structure while improving ventilation, alleviating conditions which were adversely affecting the historic monument.

Structural improvements should also make the Stones more secure, which, coupled with access improvements, will enable us to continue to promote and raise awareness about this registered historic feature.

These works have been supported by the City Council’s Premises Management Unit following a successful bid by Parks & Greenspaces. Sadly this was in response to an unsuccessful Heritage Lottery Fund bid for a far more extensive project in 2011.

Throughout this process we have liaised with Merseyside Archaeological Society and National Museums Liverpool who remain important partners for us in terms of any future proposals, however, as I’m sure you are aware, public funding is very challenging at present, hence the urgent need for interim measures to the Vestibule building.

I trust this is of interest and should you require any further details please let me know.

Regards,

John Reppion continues:
A month later and the vestibule and ancient stones are still in exactly the same condition they were when I first contacted the council.

I am currently in touch with the Merseyside Archaeological Society who have expressed some concerns about the suitability of the current conditions for the precious prehistoric stones (especially given the wet weather we have experienced recently) and I have to admit that I share their worries.

Liverpool's Parks have today got back to me stating that

"Unfortunately owing to our current budget situation these works are being undertaken in an incremental manner subject to funding approval which has resulted in a temporary impasse."

I believe they are doing all that they can in the situation but, nevertheless, conditions are not ideal for the stones currently.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81776864@N03/7892682764/

Source:
http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?76957-The-Calderstones-South-Liverpool-s-Stonehenge&p=412933&viewfull=1#post412933
[ Reply to This ]

The Calderstones of Liverpool by Andy B on Wednesday, 05 September 2012
(User Info | Send a Message)
Abridged excerpt from "The Calderstones of Liverpool" published in Darklore Vol 6 (2011)

Formerly a private estate, the land which now makes up the Calderstones Park was purchased by Liverpool Corporation in 1902 for the sum of £43,000 from shipping magnate brothers Charles and David McIver. The Park was officially opened to the public three years later in 1905. The 94 acre (0.38 km2) space is well kept and always busy, boasting as it does a walled garden, a children’s play area, an historic Mansion House, a café, a former boating lake turned wildlife haven, a miniature ride-on railway, and even a thousand year old Oak Tree known as “the Law Oak”.

Buried amongst this myriad of amusements, attractions and events – set back from the pathway which leads from the park’s heavily ornamented main gates - is an unassuming, semi-derelict looking conservatory*. This weather-beaten structure is known as “the vestibule” and once served as the entry point to a network of greenhouses belonging to the Harthill community allotments beyond. Though the allotments are still in use, the greenhouses are long gone. Today the padlocked vestibule is home to half a dozen curiously ornamented sandstone relics ranging in size from almost 8 feet (2.4 m) to 4 feet (1.2 metres) tall, whose history was already all but forgotten when the Law Oak was still an acorn.

The oldest written record of the stones dates back to 1568 where they are marked on a map relating to a boundary dispute between the districts of Wavertree and Allerton thusly:
“The Calldwaye Stones, called by the Quenes tenantes. And called bye y tenantes of Rich. Lathame the Dojer Stones, otherwise Roger Stones, or Calldwaye Stones”

In 2007/2008 a high resolution digital photography survey of the stones was undertaken by Messrs George Nash and Adam Stanford. Key to the success of Nash & Stanford’s survey was their use of oblique lighting techniques to optimise shadows cast on and by the designs. Their paper Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool was published in 2010 and is an exhaustive chronicle of every visible motif upon the stones’ surface.

Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool
http://bristol.academia.edu/GeorgeNash/Papers/1134049/History_of_Calderstones

In addition to the Early Bronze Age cup and ring markings, the six surviving Calderstones also bear many other petroglyphs including spirals (single and conjoined) carved circa 3000 BCE (the previously mentioned Irish passage graves at Newgrange and Knowth, and the Welsh Barclodiad y Gawres feature stones engraved with similar complex spiral designs), curved and straight lines (single and in groups) again from the Early Bronze Age, and Bronze Age footprint images.

There are eight well defined individual footprints (more correctly referred to as petrosomatoglyphs, rather than petroglyphs), seven of which have five forward facing toes, while one print on the stone known as Stone B has six. Each footprint has a blunt, squared heel giving them a slightly flipper-esque quality. There are only a few British stones and artefacts with similar carvings, most notably a cist which originated from the Pool Farm barrow in West Harptree, Somerset and features six such footprints. Because the footprints are all singular, each is thought to represent specific individuals. Whether these were people who were entombed there, who oversaw rituals, or perhaps acted as guardians of the site, we can only speculate.

More at
http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?76957-The-Calderstones-South-Liverpool-s-Stonehenge&p=412933&viewfull=1#post412933

With thanks to John Reppion for the informtation
[ Reply to This ]
    Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones in Liverpool by Andy B on Monday, 23 April 2018
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Recording Images Old and New on the Calderstones
    in Liverpool, George Nash and Adam Stanford

    Between late 2007 and early 2008 the authors were
    commissioned by Merseyside Archaeology Society to
    [digitally] record photographically the rock-art on the
    Calderstones, a destroyed passage grave dating to the
    Neolithic period. The site, originally located immediately
    outside the Calderstones Park in Liverpool, had recently
    witnessed a rather turbulent history. Following destruction
    of the site in the early 19th century, six stones (along
    with probably other stones) were erected within a traffic
    island immediately outside the park boundary in the early
    20th century. By 1964 the stones, made from local soft
    sandstone were erected in a glass pagoda in Calderstones
    Park. However, inspection by one of the authors in 2005
    revealed that the stones had deteriorated significantly,
    due mainly to poor climate control and moisture levels
    within the pagoda. It was therefore considered that a
    programme of recording and conservation would be
    required in the near future. Using several tried and tested
    photographic methodologies each of the thirteen faces
    that belonged to the six highly decorated stones was
    photographed. The carved imagery included megalithic
    art, cupmarks, medieval and post-medieval textual and
    representative graffiti. This paper describes the recent
    history of the site and the discoveries made from the two
    photography sessions that took place in the winter of 2007.

    https://www.academia.edu/1080857/History_of_Calderstones
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by Anonymous on Saturday, 25 December 2010
does anybody know where the original site for these stones was please?
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The 2008 Stonehenge Rope Experiment using the principle of Occam's Razor by coggins on Thursday, 17 April 2008
(User Info | Send a Message)
Andy - my apologies.
Your item looked like you were claiming to be conducting the experiment. I thought you might have been one of John Hill's students from his latest course on Stonehenge at the University of Liverpool.
It was not clear that you were passing on information which you had found elesewhere - in this case, perhaps in 'Northern Earth'?
Keep up the good work, and thanks for drawing this experiment to peoples' attention.
Best Regards,
Brian Coggins
[ Reply to This ]

The 2008 Stonehenge Rope Experiment using the principle of Occam's Razor by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 April 2008
(User Info | Send a Message)
Taking place across the Summer Solstice of 2008 at the University of Liverpool Sports Ground, Mather Avenue, Allerton, Liverpool

Stonehenge is constantly under archaeological investigation and yet despite all the advances of modern research we still do not know how a prehistoric, preliterate community could have designed such an engineering achievement. However, research being undertaken at the University of Liverpool can demonstrate one simple solution to this anomaly. In fact the 2008 Stonehenge Rope Experiment will present the Occam’s Razor solution and our experiment will demonstrate how Stonehenge could have been planned and designed by people with no greater scientific or mathematical ability other than being able to count with just their fingers and toes.

Although we are not actually building a replica model of Stonehenge we will be marking out onto a sports-field a full scale plan of its design. Using the simplest of methods, you will be surprised by the level of accuracy we will actually achieve. This unique experiment will form part of the University’s contribution towards the City of Liverpool’s 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations.

No other researcher or university in the world has ever performed such a feat and the visual results of this experiment will be made accessible for public viewing. The site will be open for visitors on Friday 20 June-Sunday 22 June 2008, 12.00 noon-6.00 daily, weather permitting. Admission to the site is free and guided tours will be on hand to explain how the experiment has been conducted.

EXHIBITION – DEMONSTRATIONS – GUIDED TOURS - FREE PARKING – FREE ADMISSION

http://dbweb.liv.ac.uk/cll/Cont_Ed_files/Stonehenge_rope_experiment.pdf
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by TimPrevett on Thursday, 31 May 2007
(User Info | Send a Message)
The telephone number here has changed for the Park Rangers

Here
http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Whats_on/Ranger_activities/index.asp

it's given

Telephone
0151 233 3007

E-mail
park.rangers@liverpool.gov.uk
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Calderstones by TimPrevett on Sunday, 25 January 2004
(User Info | Send a Message)
I have read that there is some graffiti inscribed relatively more recently upon them: the two letters "JL". This has caused some minor speculation about a famous Scouser who grew up not too far away!

To arrange a visit, phone 0151 225 5910, or e-mail park.rangers@liverpool.gov.uk

I also recommend the booklet "The Calderstones - a
prehistoric tomb in Liverpool", published by the Merseyside Archaeological Society. ISBN 0906479053. I picked up my copy for 50p at Liverpool Museum!
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: The Calderstones by PaulM on Sunday, 25 January 2004
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    We have that too (the hardback, brown covered version?) but compare some of the diagrams in that to the photos. We think the author has got some wrong - for example in one case the feet point the wrong way.

    As for the graffiti - there is stuff dating back from the 1800's hundreds to two years ago. A number of years back spraypaint was used on the stones and the chemicals to remove it were a bit too vigourous for the stone and caused some damage.

    Paul
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: The Calderstones by TimPrevett on Monday, 26 January 2004
      (User Info | Send a Message)
      I knew you had it - in the course of my research online I discovered you bought it for her 30th birthday, off the internet 2nd hand, and it is stamped "Liverpool City Libraries"!

      ;-)

      Amazing what's on the internet!
      [ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.