<< Our Photo Pages >> Ladder Hill - Ring Cairn in England in Derbyshire
Submitted by Couplands on Tuesday, 23 July 2002 Page Views: 11853
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Ladder Hill Alternative Name: Cadster (?), TunsteadCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 1.129 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Derbyshire Type: Ring Cairn
Nearest Town: Whaley Bridge Nearest Village: Fernilee
Map Ref: SK0230579434 Landranger Map Number: 119
Latitude: 53.311839N Longitude: 1.966866W
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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Vicky writes: We recently acquired a copy of Marsden’s ‘The Burial Mounds of Derbyshire’, which put us on the trail of a possible stone circle in Derbyshire within metres of the Peak National Park boundary.
Having gone back to the original source, Memorials of Old Derbyshire by Rev J. Charles Cox (1907) we came across the following description in an article by W.F.Andrew FSA:
‘A circle of this class [embanked stone circle similar to the Nine Ladies] which has hitherto escaped observation has an interesting deviation from the usual lines. It stands 1050 feet above sea level on the hillside at Cadster, near Whaley Bridge, but in Chapel-en-le-Frith parish. Its vallum has an elliptical diameter, varying from thirty five to forty feet, with entrances north-north-east and south-west. The stones are of the same arrangement and size as those of the Nine Ladies, and the diameter of their circle varies from thirty feet to thirty three feet six inches. The centre is nearly level, but some large stones below the turf may have supported a monolith, which, perhaps, was a large pointed stone, measuring four feet long, two feet six inches wide, and one foot deep, now lying at the foot of the vallum. Ninety feet nearly south by west of the circle, almost prostrate is the “pointer,” a block of millstone grit measuring three feet six inches high, two foot six inches broad, and two feet deep. . .’
Andrew then goes on to describe an excavation which he undertook on the site. A trench was cut across the bank revealing loose stones laid upon the natural ground surface. Into these ‘the principle stones of the circle’ were placed. He later describes these as ‘pillars’ from which he removed encroaching turf.
Having had our appetites sufficiently whetted, we decided to take a trip up there this weekend and were pleasantly surprised by what we found. As we have learnt from past experience, following antiquarian references often leads to disappointment as many of the sites have been destroyed in the last century. However on this occasion there was a recognisable prehistoric site to be seen.
Walking along the track (Long Lane) which skirts the site to the south, the prominent circular rubble bank can be seen on the hillside for some distance. A close inspection reveals three recumbent stones within the bank itself as well as several others littering the field and wall lines (GR: SK02337942). A possible candidate for Andrew’s outlying standing stone can be found to the south-west of the circle. The Ladder Hill site has obviously suffered since Andrew’s time so it is difficult to say whether it is a stone circle or a ringcairn, as Barnatt suggests in his 1990 publication.
It is certainly well-placed to be a stone circle, with fantastic views over Whaley Bridge and the hills beyond. It is very reminiscent of other sites in Derbyshire, having been terraced into the hillside to create a level interior. Andrew’s description of ‘pillars’ and stones of the same size and arrangement of those of the Nine Ladies certainly seems to suggest that it was an embanked stone circle.
Text and original page by Vicky
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