<< Our Photo Pages >> Matfen - Standing Stone (Menhir) in England in Northumberland
Submitted by vicky on Monday, 10 March 2003 Page Views: 12272
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Matfen Alternative Name: ERA-1477; Beckensall 659; NMR 20892; SAM 25179; SMR/HER N10306; Stob StoneCountry: England County: Northumberland Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Prudhoe Nearest Village: Matfen
Map Ref: NZ0332670449 Landranger Map Number: 87
Latitude: 55.028560N Longitude: 1.949504W
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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SumDoood would like to visit
bishop_pam visited on 26th Aug 2017 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
SolarMegalith visited on 18th Aug 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5
Anne T visited on 15th Jun 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5 This standing stone, near Matfen Hall Hotel/Golf Course, stands on the edge of a road in a hamlet called 'Standing Stone'. It is easy to find, being on a right hand turn just before the main entrance to Matfen Hall Golf Course, and opposite Standing Stone House, about 100 yards from the road junction.
It is difficult to park adjacent to the stone, unless you park in the entrance to the farm/farm buildings, but just opposite the road junction to Standing Stone hamlet, there is another left hand turn with room for a few cars to park at the side of the junction.
The short walk back to the stone was a little difficult, due to the stream of traffic and bicycles moving quickly along the road, but as long as you are careful, it's fine.
There are some impressive cup marks at the base of the north face of the stone, and some more at the top.
Worth seeing, and on the way to The Warrior Stone at Inghoe and Bygate Hill.
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4 Ambience: 3.67 Access: 5
Also known as the Stob Stone, the motifs on this standing stone are recorded as ERA-1477 Matfen Standing Stone. This contains NADRAP's notes, Beckensall's Archive Notes and description, photographs, a sketch of the stone and its motifs, plus photogrammetry and media from the Beckensall Archive.
Beckensall describes the stones as: "On three sides of its base, close to the ground, are many cup marks. Whether they were put there before or after the stone was erected we do not know. The stone is naturally fluted, which makes it impressive. The cup marks are best seen in oblique sunlight. There are 29 cups and three fainter ones on one side, five cups and an arc around a fainter cup on another, and 23 cups of various sizes on the third side." NADRAP, in their later survey says: "(there is a) minimum of 26 cups at the base of E, N and W faces. Upper surfaces badly affected by weathering."
ERA notes that access to the stone is "Access by Right of Way." This standing stone is located to the southern side of a narrow metalled road (Hope Lane).
The original Beckensall record can be found at Internet Archive: Beckensall 659 The Matfen Standing Stone.
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