<< Our Photo Pages >> Devil's Arrows - Stone Row / Alignment in England in Yorkshire (North)
Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 25 December 2017 Page Views: 54653
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Devil's Arrows Alternative Name: Three Grey Hounds, Three Sisters, Devils Arrows, The Devil's BoltsCountry: England County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Nearest Town: Boroughbridge
Map Ref: SE39076659 Landranger Map Number: 99
Latitude: 54.093736N Longitude: 1.404127W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
DrewParsons SumDoood whese001 would like to visit
juleslandau visited on 2nd Dec 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Awe inspiring in their immensity and grandeur.
wildtalents visited on 22nd Apr 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 On a day when it never stopped raining it was still worth trudging (trespassing) through the farmer's knee-high crops of I don't know what, rather than gazing at the two smaller arrows from afar. The biggest arrow is across the road and mighty impressive.
Easy parking at the roadside: the site is now perched on the edge of a modern "little boxes" housing estate.
FranPears visited on 9th Aug 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3
TheCaptain visited on 13th May 2022 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Its not too far from York, so I went for a look at the Devil's Arrows, which were easy to find. Despite a new housing estate now encroaching and the very nearby A1 and A1(M), these are still at large in fields and feel wild and free. All three stones are magnificent and monsters with interesting rainules running down them. Magnificent.
Richard13 visited on 2nd Jul 2021 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5 Access and information has improved since my last visit. A new road (Marina Lane) branches off Roecliffe Road on the way into Boroughbridge and this now features a small parking area with an information board about the stones which seems to be aimed at visitors to the Devils Arrows.
One of the Arrows sits adjacent to the main road in a small clearing while the two others stand in the field opposite it. All of them can be seen from the new parking spaces and can be walked to. Although the main road into Boroughbridge passes by one stone and the two others are close to the A168 road this does not detract as much as you think it would as the stones are big enough to have an imposing presence of their own. Access to one Arrow is extremely easy as it is next to the road, while access to the others would probably depend more on the state of the crops in the field.
This is an excellent site to visit as a break if you are on a car journey up or down the A1(M) and the new layby and information board is a positive development. In spite of this I am sure that many people drive straight past and don't realise that the stones are there
Catrinm visited on 12th Oct 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5
indigosue visited on 1st Aug 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4 I've been here a few times when I lived in North Yorkshire and at least twice since I moved to Suffolk. The ambience is not helped by being right next to the A1M, although I used to look for glimpses of the stones when driving past. They are well worth a visit because they are fascinating and awesome. I love the eroded fluted millstone grit look.
Richard13 visited on 1st Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5
Catrinm visited on 25th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Impressively large arrows and well preserved. Now next to new housing estate.
SandyG visited on 1st Aug 2017 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5 There is limited safe parking in the vicinity of the monument.
drolaf visited on 13th Jul 2017 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4
MartinJEley visited on 4th Apr 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4 The stones are easily accessed with two standing in a field still in use and the third just across the road. The close alignment is clearly visible. Worth the visit.
kthdsn visited on 20th Jul 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5
Majick123 visited on 13th Jun 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Beautiful stones. The Main stone is on the main road, with the other 2 remaining stones in the adjacent corn field. Access is good for the two stones in the field, but please respect it is a working field and try not to damage the crop. Once in the Field you can see the alignment of the stones, and the magnificence of the monument.
TheWhiteRider visited on 22nd Jun 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 1 Access: 4
woodini254 visited on 12th May 1997 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4
Sunny100 visited on 1st Jan 1970 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Fairly easy to get to once out of the town, one next to a house, the other two in a field close by. And yes they are aligned.
Bladup rldixon kelpie nicoladidsbury NickyD have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.65 Ambience: 3.53 Access: 4.63
Probably a five-stone row originally. The fourth stone was reputedly broken up in 1582 to build the bridge over the River Tutt, and the fifth is lost in history. The stones are of gritstone, having pointed tops, with a fluted effect caused by weathering, and are buried up to 1.5m into the ground. Dating from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, the stones were the site of a solstice fair in historical times. Several astronomical alignments have been postulated, as well as a straight ley-type alignment.
The Devils Arrow alignment. Ref: Lines on the Landscape, Devereux and Pennick
Access: Turn off the A1(M) at the A6055 (Boroughbridge) and head into the town. Turn left after the Three Arrows Hotel, down Roecliffe Lane. The stones are a few hundred metres down and unfortunately near to the A1(M) that now bypasses Boroughbridge. The tallest is just off the road to the left, behind a gate. The other two are 200m away on the opposite side of the road, in a cornfield. It is possible to get near the stones by walking down the side of the field, taking care not to trample the corn. Strikingly tall stones. The nearby motorway is not as disturbing as I had expected, due to a high hedge which hides it.
For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 53493 and Historic England List ID 1014705 (Stone alignment west of Boroughbridge known as the Devil's Arrows, including three standing stones and the setting for a fourth), which gives the grid references of the three stones as SE 39071 66588, SE 39099 66531, SE 39152 66430.
The Northern Antiquarian's (TNA) page for Devil’s Arrows, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire shows the location site on the 1855 OS Map and a drawing of the site from 1895. The Journal of Antiquities also features an entry for the Devil’s Arrows, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, which includes a drawing, a photograph of the Arrows and folklore.
Update October 2019: The alignment is also featured on the Stone Rows of Great Britain website - see their entry for the Devil’s Arrows, which includes a description, a plan of the row, photographs of the alignment and the individual stones, access information and links to other online resources for more information. The SRoGB includes a link to 'The Smell of Water: the legend of the Devil's arrows'.
Note: David Parke has made a couple of good 'Monument' podcasts and an audio introduction. One talks to various enthusiasts about the Devil's Arrows, there other is an episode about the Long Man of Wilmington - details in the comments on our pages.
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