Featured Title:
Bending the Boyne: a Novel of Ancient Ireland |
 |
| Iron Age Britain, Barry Cunliffe |
 |
| Login |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like your own home page, fewer ads, and your contributions link to your page. |
| Who's Online |
There are currently, 130 guests and 1 members online.
You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here |
| |
Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , coldrum , Klingon , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith , sem
The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map : Index >>
Stones Forum >> Gossip Stones
|
 |
| Author |
Gossip Stones |
wearwolf
Joined:
06-08-2007
Messages: 9
from Wearside
 OFF-Line
|  Posted 28-09-2008 at 21:16
Bit of a long-shot, this... but I guess if anyone's going to know they'll likely be on here.
The Gossip Stones were apparently a pair of standing stones by a roadside between Penshaw and Offerton, Wearside. They no longer exist, though one may have survived at least untill the 1930s.
I've tentatively located their site, via info from the very scarce accounts of them, backed up by dowsing.
Does anyone have any info at all about these stones ? I seem to have exhausted the local history book route, and not much to show for it.
Oh well... said it'd be a long shot ! 
 Profile
 Reply
|
h_fenton
Joined:
22-10-2005
Messages: 105
from OXFORDSHIRE, UK
OFF-Line
|  Posted 29-09-2008 at 00:43
this stone on the side of the road?
Profile
Reply
|
brigantia
Joined:
13-01-2002
Messages: 804
from Yorkshire & Argyll
OFF-Line
| Posted 29-09-2008 at 09:55
Quote:
|
On 2008-09-28 21:16, wearwolf wrote:
The Gossip Stones were apparently a pair of standing stones by a roadside between Penshaw and Offerton, Wearside. They no longer exist, though one may have survived at least untill the 1930s. |
|
Naathen - would these 'ere Gossip Stones be the ones by the 'fairy haunted' Pensher Hill, as it was called in 1886? William Brockie (Legends & Superstitions of the County of Durham, 1886:81-2) told folklore about the fairy folk here, who left a piece of buttered bread on an old stone "at the root of the hedge," where previously broken peel had been, which the fairy-folk bid a local man to mend.
But this may be a different hill, as Brockie, sadly, doesn't describe the township, nor name the stone. Damn! Have you got anymore bits of info to help out?
Cheers - Paul
Profile
 Email
Reply
|
wearwolf
Joined:
06-08-2007
Messages: 9
from Wearside
OFF-Line
| Posted 29-09-2008 at 20:19
Quote:
|
On 2008-09-29 00:43, h_fenton wrote:
this stone on the side of the road?
|
|
I've never seen the location acurately specified, but yeah - that's where I place them. On some later O/S maps the stone is actually marked as an antiquity.
Unfortunately, at some stage that road has been considerably widened, at which point it seems that the stone, antiquity or not, vanished. Probably into the foundations or something.
As far as I can work out, the stones must have stood on a sort of ridge that comes down from Penshaw Hill and heads towards Carr Hill. The road has now been driven straight through it.
Happily, the hedgeline by the stone still exists, so it's still possible to get your bearings fairly accurately, and dowsing seems to confirm this as the site.
[ This message was edited by: wearwolf on 2008-09-29 20:20 ]
Profile
Reply
|
wearwolf
Joined:
06-08-2007
Messages: 9
from Wearside
OFF-Line
| Posted 29-09-2008 at 20:31
Quote:
|
On 2008-09-29 09:55, brigantia wrote:
Naathen - would these 'ere Gossip Stones be the ones by the 'fairy haunted' Pensher Hill, as it was called in 1886? William Brockie (Legends & Superstitions of the County of Durham, 1886:81-2) told folklore about the fairy folk here, who left a piece of buttered bread on an old stone "at the root of the hedge," where previously broken peel had been, which the fairy-folk bid a local man to mend.
But this may be a different hill, as Brockie, sadly, doesn't describe the township, nor name the stone. Damn! Have you got anymore bits of info to help out?
Cheers - Paul
|
|
Not really... Brockie could be a bit vague. Not got his book to hand, but seem to recall that the broken peel story was set on Penshaw Hill ? And, as stated in the last post, the missing Gossip Stones do seem to have been on a ridge running down from said hill. Whether they may be a connection.... ?
All things considered, despite it's importance in the local landscape, Penshaw Hill has precious few legends attached to it. Did here one about a ghostly scythe-wielder, cutting the grass on the hill !
Profile
Reply
|
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 6991
from Surrey, UK
OFF-Line
| Posted 30-09-2008 at 09:31
Interesting stuff, can we have a Site Page for these please:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/submitsite.php
Put -1 in Condition for 'Destroyed', that's not a problem.
Cheers
Profile
Email
Reply
|
wearwolf
Joined:
06-08-2007
Messages: 9
from Wearside
OFF-Line
| Posted 30-09-2008 at 20:06
Quote:
|
On 2008-09-30 09:31, Andy B wrote:
Interesting stuff, can we have a Site Page for these please:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/submitsite.php
Put -1 in Condition for 'Destroyed', that's not a problem.
Cheers
|
|
Will hold fire on that... just today found some more info, may be nothing relevent, but I'd like to get along there and check it out on the ground. Hope to get along there tomorrow or Thursday.
Profile
Reply
| |
|
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTES: This site uses COOKIES. Please do not use this web site if you do not agree to our Terms and Conditions of use.
If you plan to visit ancient sites in person, please make sure you follow our Charter.
Articles, photographs and comments are the property of their respective authors or contributors, please contact them for permission to reproduce. Site design ©1997-2012 Andy Burnham.
|
Main News