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<< Our Photo Pages >> Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) - Standing Stone (Menhir) in England in Lancashire

Submitted by Sunny100 on Sunday, 01 August 2010  Page Views: 15547

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) Alternative Name: The Clam Bridge, Wycoller Slab Bridge
Country: England County: Lancashire Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Colne  Nearest Village: Wycoller
Map Ref: SD93583889
Latitude: 53.846210N  Longitude: 2.099062W
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.
4 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
5

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Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)
Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) submitted by Sunny100 : Another close-up view of the 12 foot long gritstone slab, dating from the Iron Age. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Standing Stone (Menhir) in Lancashire
This one is a bit of an oddity, I know. But, according to local historians and others, this long slab-stone that spans Wycoller Beck is a former standing stone (menhir).

Apparently it dates from the Iron Age and used to stand somewhere on the moors to the NE of the little, secluded village. The warden of the Wycoller Country Park assures me that this is correct.

It was apparently brought down to the beck (or rolled along on logs) in a similar way, perhaps, to the great sarsons at Stonehenge. It was then placed across the beck to afford access. It is made of gritstone and roughly measures 12 foot long. In fact, it is one single length of stone, now flattened and worn by time. In the floods of 1989 and 1990 it was brought crashing down and broken in two places. However, the slab was restored again; you can see where the breaks occured due to the iron clasps on the underside. There was once a rail attached to the slab - now only its holes remain.

On the moors overlooking Wycoller there was a Bronze Age burial mound and also an Iron Age settlement. Over the years objects of antiquity have been found including arrow heads, flint scrapers, a large anvil-shaped stone and also a flint knapping stone.

Back down the footpath to Wycoller's ruined hall there is the Clapper Bridge - two long stone slabs supported by a central stone pier. It is deeply worn in the middle by two centuries of weavers' feet. This bridge is also called Druids Bridge - the thinking being than it led to a sort of amphitheatre where druidical sacrifices were carried out. However, this is just the stuff of myth and legend and without any real truth. The clapper bridge is probably medieval.

For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 46147 which does not give a date for the millstone grit bridge, but says it is of historical important, there are plans to rebuild it.

The Journal of Antiquities also features an entry for the The Three Ancient Bridges, Wycoller, Lancashire; scroll down their webpage for information about this bridge, along with photographs and a list of reference sources for more information. Whilst in the area, the JoA also includes information about two other bridges nearby: the Old Packhorse Bridge or Sally's Bridge at SD 932383 39247 and the Druid's Bridge (also known as Weaver's Bridge or Hall Bridge) which is near the ruins of Wycoller Hall (see The History of Wycoller for more details).
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Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)
Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) submitted by Sunny100 : A view of the clam bridge with its Iron Age stone menhir laid across Wycoller beck. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)
Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) submitted by Sunny100 : Another view of the bridge. It is a 12 foot long gritstone slab, dating from prehistoric times, now heavily worn and flattened by time and weather, and pivoting on either side of the beck with the aid of a large stone by the stile, and a plinth on the footpath side. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)
Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) submitted by Sunny100 : An overview of the clam bridge, a massive prehistoric slab stone that may have once stood up-right on the moors nearby. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)
Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) submitted by Sunny100 : Close up of the Iron Age slab or menhir lying across the Wycoller beck. It may have originally stood upright on the moors to the NE. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SD9338 : Boulder in Wycoller Beck by David Dixon
by David Dixon
©2011(licence)
SD9338 : Clam bridge. Wycoller. by steven ruffles
by steven ruffles
©2019(licence)
SD9338 : Clam Bridge by Derek Haslam
by Derek Haslam
©2014(licence)
SD9338 : Ancient Bridge at Wycoller by Gary Rogers
by Gary Rogers
©2005(licence)
SD9338 : Ancient Bridge at Wycoller by sylvia duckworth
by sylvia duckworth
©2007(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 630m NW 310° Wycoller Cup-marked Stones* Rock Art (SD931393)
 673m NE 45° Herder's Cross (Wycoller) Ancient Cross (SD9405639367)
 685m NW 323° Lowlands Well (Wycoller) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD93173944)
 951m NNE 26° Ratten Clough Cross (Emmot Moor) Ancient Cross (SD9399739746)
 1.1km SSE 156° Brink Ends Cairn Cairn (SD94033786)
 1.8km NE 40° Emmott Moor Rock Art (SD9475040285)
 1.8km NNW 348° Hullown Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD93204067)
 2.0km E 98° Coombe Hill (Wycoller) Ancient Cross (SD9558638608)
 2.7km S 171° Boulsworth Hill Carvings* Carving (SD9397836237)
 3.0km NW 323° Cold Well (Laneshawbridge)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD91804125)
 3.3km E 98° Great Moss (Emmott Moor) Standing Stone (Menhir) (SD969384)
 3.6km E 100° Watersheddles Cross* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SD9712338276)
 3.8km ENE 61° Ickornshaw Moor* Rock Art (SD9689040731)
 3.9km ESE 119° Lad of Crow Hill* Not Known (by us) (SD970370)
 4.1km S 183° Dove Stones (Widdop Moor)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SD93333479)
 4.2km E 90° Old Bess Stone (Oakworth Moor) Standing Stone (Menhir) (SD978389)
 4.4km WSW 244° Knave Hill (Nelson)* Cairn (SD8963636991)
 4.4km WSW 251° Walton Spire Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SD8939137498)
 4.4km WSW 249° Walton Spire Cross* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SD8941637328)
 4.6km W 280° St. Helen's Well (Waterside, Colne)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SD890397)
 4.7km ESE 107° Silver Hill* Round Barrow(s) (SD981375)
 4.7km WSW 245° Ring Stones Hill Stone Circle (SD89263693)
 4.9km SE 130° Alcomden Stones* Rock Outcrop (SD9731335737)
 4.9km WNW 284° Emmott Cross (Colne) Ancient Cross (SD888401)
 4.9km SW 222° Broadbank* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD9023935227)
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"Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone)" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) by Runemage on Tuesday, 03 August 2010
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I can see five pics Sunny. Please ask him to have another look :-)

[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 03 August 2010
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Yes thanks so much for that Runemage my brother says the five pics have arrived on his pc. It's all sorted now. Thanks again.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 03 August 2010
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My brother says the pics of Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) don't appear on his pc. Are they just on my pc and, not as it were, everywhere else. But anyway, thanks to the team at Meg Portal for all their hard work sorting things out. Much obliged. Keep up the good work.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) by Runemage on Monday, 02 August 2010
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Hi Sunny, Please don't worry, the descriptions and photographs are added separately. There's a large backlog of photos at the moment, over 150, yours are held up in the queue somewhere. Please bear with us, the Admins are working on it :-)



[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Wycoller Iron Age Bridge (Standing Stone) by Sunny100 on Monday, 02 August 2010
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Thanks for letting me know. It must be a nightmare sorting through all those photos and descriptions, and i only have a few to bother with. So thanks again Runemage. Cheers.
    [ Reply to This ]

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