<< Other Photo Pages >> The Goldstone - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in England in East Sussex

Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 30 April 2021  Page Views: 10172

Natural PlacesSite Name: The Goldstone
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.57 km away from the location you searched for.
County: East Sussex Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: Brighton  Nearest Village: Hove
Map Ref: TQ2868306021
Latitude: 50.839418N  Longitude: 0.173776W
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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lucasn visited on 29th Jan 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5

stolinskie visited on 1st Jan 2020 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5

Twistytwirly visited - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 3 Access: 5



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.67 Ambience: 3 Access: 5

The Goldstone
The Goldstone submitted by Creative Commons : The Goldstone, Hove Park Situated in the south western corner legend has it the stone dropped onto the site whilst the Devil was digging his dyke in the Downs to the north. Copyright Paul Gillett and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Natural Stones - including the remnants of a possible stone circle - in East Sussex. Situated in the south-western corner of Hove Park. Legend has it the stone dropped onto the site whilst the Devil was digging his dyke in the Downs to the north.

The big stone is set in a smaller ring of stones and was believed to be an ancient druids' meeting point. However, during the early part of the 19th century the contemporary farmer, whose land the stone was on, got so incensed by the continual visits of the 19th century druids and supporters he buried it in a secret location. This remained so until 1900 when it was finally located, dug up, and in 1906 placed in its current spot in the newly opened Hove Park.

Note: Megaliths and Folklore in Brighton and Hove by Kevin Groves: The Goldstone and Hove Circle, see the comments on our page along with more from 3rd Stone Issues 41 and 42 which are now scanned and available to read
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The Goldstone
The Goldstone submitted by Creative Commons : The Goldstone in Hove Park Hove Park's great claim to fame, the Goldstone, lies in its southwest corner. This huge rock, weighing about 20 tons, is commonly believed to have been used by the Druids for worship. Copyright Simon Carey and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)

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

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
TQ2806 : The Goldstone in Hove Park by Jim Barton
by Jim Barton
©2023(licence)
TQ2806 : The Goldstone Dolmen by Tom Jolliffe
by Tom Jolliffe
©2007(licence)
TQ2806 : The Goldstone in Hove Park by Paul Gillett
by Paul Gillett
©2009(licence)
TQ2806 : The Goldstone, Hove Park by Simon Carey
by Simon Carey
©2007(licence)
TQ2806 : Park View Road by Simon Carey
by Simon Carey
©2009(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.2km SE 141° Hove Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (TQ2948105096)
 1.3km SSW 203° Hove Museum and Art Gallery* Museum (TQ282048)
 2.3km WSW 251° St. Leonards Church Sarsens Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (TQ26560524)
 3.0km SE 126° Brighton Museum and Art Gallery* Museum (TQ312043)
 3.1km W 277° Church Hill Standing Stones Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (TQ2554506318)
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 5.4km NW 311° Tenant Hill Fields System Misc. Earthwork (TQ245095)
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 6.1km NW 322° Fulking Hill Tumulus 1* Round Barrow(s) (TQ248108)
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 6.7km NNE 27° Standean* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (TQ316121)
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"The Goldstone" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Megaliths and Folklore in Brighton and Hove by Kevin Groves by Andy B on Friday, 30 April 2021
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Megaliths and Folklore in Brighton and Hove by Kevin Groves

The Goldstone & Hove Circle
Of the megaliths that may have once existed in the Hove area, only one small group now remains, none of which are in their original positions. In a corner of Hove Park, enclosed behind metal railings, stands the Goldstone, a sandstone/flint conglomerate, approximately 9ft high, 13ft wide and estimated to weigh around 20 tons. Around its base are grouped a further eight stones, much smaller in size than the Goldstone, which reputedly once formed part of a nearby circle.

The story of how these stones came to stand Where they do today begins back in the 1830s, when the Goldstone became something of a tourist attraction for fashionable Regency visitors to Brighton. The stone stood in Goldstone Bottom, 300 yards southwest of its present site, on land belonging to William Marsh Rigden, of Long Barn Farm. After becoming increasingly fed-up With people trampling across his fields to look at the stone, in March 1834 Rigden had it uprooted and buried (Porter 1897). This event does not seemed to have caused much concern until, over thirty years later, the historian Mark Anthony Lower came across the story and was moved to write in his History of Sussex: “a utilitarian farmer... dug a hole and buried this relic of unknown ages... some archaeologists wish he had been buried under it"

In 1898, William Hollamby of Brighton Council got to hear of this sorry tale and, on 29th September 1900, he had the Goldstone unearthed. It was re-erected in the newly-opened Hove Park in 1906.

The question of whether a stone circle ever stood near the Goldstone has been a matter of debate since it was first mentioned in 1818. In a letter to Gideon Mantel], the Rev. J. Douglas stated that: “This stone [i.e. the Goldstone] is in a line to the south of Goldstone Bottom, at the end of which, close to the rise of the hill, is a dilapidated cirque, composed of stones of the same kind”. Edwards made no mention of it in his Companion of seventeen years earlier, although he wrote in great detail about the Goldstone itself. In his 1824 Histog/ of Brighton, Sicklemore says that the stones had been “removed from their original position". This suggests that if there ever was a circle, it had been destroyed by this date (Middleton 1982), although a sketch by HG. Hines of c.1828 seems to show part of a circle still standing.

What is certain, however, is that at some time during the I840s a lot of stones were removed from this area - some were used to fill in a nearby pond, while others were allegedly broken up and taken to Brighton to become the base of the Victoria Fountain, as mentioned earlier. The reason for their removal at this time is open to question. It is unlikely that sightseers were still bothering Farmer Rigden ten years after he had disposed of the Goldstone; more likely they were considered a hindrance to farming. It fact, the noted archaeologist Herbert S. Toms was of the opinion that the 'circle' had probably been little more than a pile of clearance stones deposited there by farmers over the years. Two other suspected circles nearby (in Stanmer Park and near a farm at Standean) had, upon examination, turned out to be just that.

After his success in re-discovering the Goldstone, HoIIamby later located the site of the filled-in pond, exhumed the stones and had them placed around the larger stone, where they remain to this day.

Read more in 3rd Stone Issue 41, now available for free download - details here
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146414673

and Issue 42 with lots more fascinating articles is available for free here
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146414674
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Re: The Goldstone by Andy B on Monday, 13 May 2013
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Andy Maxted, a Brighton Museums volunteer writes: A three metre high stone, known as the ‘Goldstone’, stands today in Hove Park surrounded by a circle of smaller sandstone blocks. This appears to be the product of early 20th century landscaping – but is the story more complicated than this?

The central stone once stood upright in what is now the area near the southern entrance of Hove Park. It attracted so much interest during the 1830s that the landowner buried it to avoid sightseers trampling his crops. It was later located, excavated and eventually moved to its existing location in 1906.

However, there is no real evidence this stone was part of any prehistoric monument.

What appear more interesting are the smaller stones, which currently surround the ‘Goldstone’. These stones originally occupied a site in the northern part of present day Hove Park and from a sketch made in c1828 by H.G. Hine it would appear they were carefully arranged next to each other in a circular formation, similar to other surviving prehistoric stone circles.

Although the present arrangement of the stones is a modern construction, it is possible that at least some of the stones once formed part of a prehistoric monument; which may have been used to celebrate the solstice. At the very least they act as reminders of Brighton and Hove’s fascinating prehistoric past.

Read more, with archive photos at the Brighton Museums blog
https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/2011/06/21/reflections-on-the-solstice/
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Re: The Goldstone by coldrum on Tuesday, 30 March 2010
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