<< Our Photo Pages >> The Bulmer Stone - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in England in County Durham
Submitted by durhamnature on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 Page Views: 10070
Natural PlacesSite Name: The Bulmer StoneCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.7 km away from the location you searched for.
County: County Durham Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: darlington
Map Ref: NZ29021496
Latitude: 54.529095N Longitude: 1.5531W
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 |
Internal Links:
External Links:
(Mostly from Darlington Council Conservation Area documents)
The Bulmer Stone is a large square-shaped boulder of pink Shap granite, and is an interesting street feature. The ancient stone is one of Darlington's oldest monuments, having been left in what became Northgate during the melting of the ice at the end of the last ice age.
For centuries the boulder was a significant local landmark, occupying a prominent
position on Northgate's pavement in close proximity to the road. In the early nineteenth century Willy Bulmer, Darlington's unofficial town crier, read the news as it arrived in London newspapers standing on the boulder and it is from him that it derives its name. Local legend states that when the boulder hears the clock strike twelve the Bulmer Stone turns around nine times.
“In Darnton towne ther is a stane,
And most strange is yt to tell,
That yt turnes nine times round aboute
When yt hears ye clock strike twell.”
It is also said that the famous George Stephenson (a colliery engineer from Northumberland) and Nicholas Wood (a colliery manager from Northumberland) sat on the stone to re-tie their
boots, having walked from Stockton to Darlington to see Edward Pease and to convince
him of the benefits of steam locomotives. It was as a result of this meeting that Pease
chose to appoint Stephenson as the Chief Engineer of the Stockton and Darlington
Railway.
In 1923 it was decided that the boulder had become a traffic hazard, and hence it was
“mounted” (imprisoned !) behind the bars of the Central House railings. What incredible philistines Darlington Council must be, to treat the town’s heritage in this way.
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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.