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Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

Stone Worlds: Narrative and Reflexivity in Landscape Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> The Humber Stone - Standing Stone (Menhir) in England in Leicestershire and Rutland

Submitted by enkidu41 on Monday, 16 August 2004  Page Views: 18828

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: The Humber Stone Alternative Name: Hoston, Hell Stone, Holy Stone
Country: England County: Leicestershire and Rutland Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Leicester
Map Ref: SK6241607095
Latitude: 52.657995N  Longitude: 1.078677W
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.
no data 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.
no data 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
4

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The Humber Stone
The Humber Stone submitted by enkidu41 : Used by kind permission of Bob Trubshaw, from his <a href="http://www.hoap.co.uk/localhis.htm#ILKLR">Interactive Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland</a> CD-ROM. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Standing Stone in Leicestershire. Now generally referred to as The Humber Stone (rather than the various alternatives found in old records) this may be an incorrect renaming because of the nearby eponymous village.

The construction of a dual carriageway in the 1990s to serve the new development on the 'deserted' village of Hamilton has resulted in the stone being near a roundabout, surrounded by a tarmac path within a wooden fence.

Although a very substantial monolith, little can be seen as the stone is now mostly buried (even though it was partially exposed in July 2000). Until at least 1750 it stood in an artificial hollow, being about nine feet high. The broadest side faces north. It is made of a granitic rock that may have been moved, in part at least, by glacial action.

The stone stands well away from the village, towards the top of a hill with clear views to the west.


Description by, and used by kind permission of, Bob Trubshaw, from his Interactive Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland CD-ROM.

Note: Explore historic Leicestershire on the Portal with Bob Trubshaw and Tony (enkidu41)
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The Humber Stone
The Humber Stone submitted by Bladup : The Humber Stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

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coldrum has found this location on Google Street View:

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SK6207 : The Humber Stone - Glacial Erratic by Ashley Dace
by Ashley Dace
©2011(licence)
SK6207 : The Humber Stone by Mat Fascione
by Mat Fascione
©2015(licence)
SK6207 : The Humber Stone - Glacial Erratic by Ashley Dace
by Ashley Dace
©2011(licence)
SK6207 : The Humber Stone - Glacial Erratic by Ashley Dace
by Ashley Dace
©2011(licence)
SK6207 : The Humber Stone - Glacial Erratic by Ashley Dace
by Ashley Dace
©2011(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 3.3km WNW 303° St James (Birstall) Early Christian Sculptured Stone (SK59630884)
 3.8km ENE 72° Beeby Henge (SK660083)
 4.2km ENE 74° Beeby Holy Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SK664083)
 4.4km WSW 245° St. Margaret's Church* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SK584052)
 4.6km NNE 33° Mowde Bush Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK649110)
 4.9km WSW 239° Jewry Wall Museum Museum (SK582045)
 5.8km NNE 31° Queniborough Stones* Standing Stones (SK653121)
 6.1km NNW 343° Cossington Bronze Age Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SK605129)
 6.1km WNW 290° Beaumont Leys* Standing Stones (SK566091)
 6.4km ESE 106° Ingarsby* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK6857805373)
 6.7km NNW 326° Rothley Cross* Ancient Cross (SK5861312637)
 6.7km WNW 298° Thurcaston C and D Standing Stones (SK56431020)
 6.7km WNW 299° Thurcaston B Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK56481030)
 6.9km WNW 301° Thurcaston A* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK56501060)
 7.2km W 280° Anstey Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK55260820)
 7.3km NNE 16° Rearsby Timber Circle Timber Circle (SK643142)
 7.4km WSW 249° Western Park (Leicester)* Misc. Earthwork (SK555043)
 7.8km NNE 20° Blue Stone (Rearsby)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SK6497414518)
 8.1km WSW 239° Braunstone Church* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK555029)
 8.7km NW 310° Cross (near Swithland)* Ancient Cross (SK557126)
 8.7km NE 46° The Blue Stone (Gaddesby)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SK687132)
 9.2km SE 136° King's Norton* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SK6890100495)
 9.7km SW 221° The Wethers* Standing Stones (SP56149972)
 10.0km SW 227° Enderby Henge (SK551002)
 10.4km ESE 115° Billesdon Cross* Ancient Cross (SK7191302822)
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"The Humber Stone" | Login/Create an Account | 9 News and Comments
  
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Re: The Humber Stone by TimPrevett on Wednesday, 15 July 2020
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Article in The Leicester Mercury and an excellent old picture of it
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    Re: The Humber Stone by Andy B on Thursday, 16 July 2020
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    Thanks Tim this is well worth a visit for anyone who's in the area. Plus there's a KFC next door - swing the Street View map round to the left :)
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: The Humber Stone by Sunny100 on Friday, 17 July 2020
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      Haha, good one Andy. Other outlets are available. There are other fast-food outlets out there, no-doubt. Thought I'd just better mention that. They always say that on the radio or television when mentioning a certain company.
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: The Humber Stone by Andy B on Tuesday, 30 January 2018
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The following is from the information board:
Also known as the Ho Stone, Hoston Stone, Hell Stone and Holy Stone it is believed to have given its name to the nearby village of Humberstone.
This standing stone (Menhir) of red granite is derived from a great glacial erratic, deposited here after being swept down from the Mountsorrel area during the ice age, some 400,000 years ago.
Local folklore suggests that it was dropped by a God and is the home of the fairies.
Until the mid 18th century it stood almost 10 feet tall in a hollow.
Legend has it that the local farmer had the top broken off to make it easier to plough the field. From that point on he never prospered, eventually losing all his land and wealth, dying in the local workhouse six years later.
It is located at the corner of Waterside Road and Sandhills Avenue.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4663860
[ Reply to This ]

The Humber Stone small book by Andy B on Tuesday, 30 January 2018
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The Mystery of the Humber Stone by John Harrison

Price: £6.50

Three miles northeast of Leicester lies the only ancient stone marked on The Ordnance Survey maps of Leicestershire.

During the 1980's the Humber stone was under threat from the new Hamilton housing development and road widening. But as locals campaigned to save the stone, strange myths and legends about the stone came to light: accidents and bad luck to those who interfere with the stone; a ghostly monk seen nearby as well as a possible UFO sighting; a hideous creature with a goat's head and human body seen by a young boy; a haystack that had been placed over the stone catching fire, the author almost being struck by lightning near the stone.

Is the Humber stone on an ancient "alignment" which connects with Leicester Abbey, Kirby Muxloe castle, Beeby crossroads, Ashwell Church in Rutland, as well as other sites?

Why should we respect ancient sites and what is their relevance today?

Is the Humber stone a symbol of the community and should it, and other ancient sites, gives us a sense of recognition and awareness of our history and environment?

Is it "The Brain of Leicestershire?"

This is the mystery of the Humber stone. 50 pages, maps and colour prints

https://www.reprintuk.com/books/mystery_of_the_humber_stone

With thanks to Sam Tait for the link
[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Humber Stone by Andy B on Tuesday, 23 January 2018
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Sam Tait writes: On the face of it, the Humber Stone is just a chunk of rock. Estimated to weigh a whopping 20 tonnes, it’s a large, isolated stone, standing in Sandhills Avenue, off Thurmaston Lane, Leicester. But for hundreds of years, myths and legends have been attached to this weird, and once prominent, feature of the Leicestershire landscape. Some of the tales are fantastical, to say the least. They say there’s no smoke without fire – and it could be there is a grain of truth in some of these tales, linked to the theory that this half-forgotten stone was once a site of great significance to our ancient ancestors.

So what is the Humber Stone, speaking geologically? It is probably an “erratic”; a large block of rock transported by the action of glaciers and plonked down, now out of place, when the ice retreated. This would have happened about 440,000 years ago, during the Anglian Ice Age, when Leicester was traversed by swathes of thick ice. The rock is syenite granite, the nearest source of which is Mountsorrel, five-and-a-half miles away.

A modern visitor to the Humber Stone will only see the top of the nine feet-high stone. The Humber Stone was fully exposed in 1881, for a geologist’s report, and the findings were documented by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The Stone was described as being pentagonal in shape, with a heavily grooved top and vertical sides. The report states that the grooves were created after the block was deposited – by artificial as well as natural causes.

There is a link too with another Leicester standing stone. Another remnant of Leicester’s ancient past is St John’s Stone, which was situated close to Leicester Abbey, in a field once known as Johnstone Close.

More at
http://www.thiswasleicestershire.co.uk/2012/11/the-humber-stone-st-johns-stone.html

[ Reply to This ]

Re: The Humber Stone by Andy B on Thursday, 22 June 2017
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One relatively lacking Bronze Age phenomena in Leicestershire are standing stones, whether alignments or circles. However, this could reflect
an absence of usable material as there are a limited number of solitary standing stones such as the reputed Humber Stone at Humberstone

https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10454/6310/CHAPTER%203.pdf?sequence=10&isAllowed=y
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Street View by coldrum on Saturday, 27 March 2010
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View Larger Map
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Re: The Humber Stone by ermine on Monday, 16 August 2004
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the gnarled shape of this is really good. I like it!
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