<< Our Photo Pages >> Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) - Stone Circle in England in Yorkshire (North)

Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 15 October 2003  Page Views: 29883

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) Alternative Name: Druids Altar, Druids' Altar, Druids' Temple Grass
Country: England County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Skipton  Nearest Village: Threshfield
Map Ref: SD94946527  Landranger Map Number: 98
Latitude: 54.083320N  Longitude: 2.078839W
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
 5

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

SumDoood AmyBlahBlahBlah would like to visit

drolaf visited on 27th Sep 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 positioned to have a good view of Pendle hill

kthdsn visited on 15th Jun 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4 We found the circle easily and parked nearby, but we were unable to cross the field boundary to get close to the circle.

BolshieBoris visited on 1st Jan 1986 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Bladup have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 3.67 Access: 3.67

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by rich32 : Druids Altar, Malham Moor, North Yorks (SD949652) (Vote or comment on this photo)
Stone Circle in North Yorkshire

[Note: There is also a circle called Druids Altar on map sheet S in Ireland] Directions for finding this site are given on The Northern Antiquarian's page for Druid’s Altar, Bordley, North Yorkshire, together with an image of the 1852 map, a plan from 1988, a brief archaeology & history and photographs. They also include a 1976 drawing by Neil Wingate and some local folklore.

Interestingly, TNA classifies this site as a ring cairn, whereas Pastscape record it as "Bronze Age four poster stone circle within earth and stone mound."

For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 46830 which says: "Bordley Circle or the Druid's Altar is described by Speight in 1892 as a 'round stone and earth mound about 150ft in circumference and 3ft high, and was formerly surrounded by a circle of upright stones, only three of which are now left standing.' The name Druid's Altar was apparently given because at one side was a flat stone resting across the top of two standing stones. This is said to have been destroyed many years ago and no reliable record of it remains. Feather and Manby consider the site to be the remains of a small chambered tomb in a round cairn with a crescentic facade. Burl rejects this as a misinterpretation due to the mutilated nature of the site and describes it as the remains of a four poster cairn. The recumbent stone at the centre is the broken part of the SW stone."
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by stu : SD949 652. The Druids Altar four poster. (4 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by drolaf : 4 stones mound Bordley (Vote or comment on this photo)

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : You can see here how close with a car you can get. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar (Yorkshire). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Follow the wall to the Druid's Altar four poster (Yorkshire). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar (Yorkshire).

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : Jolly good

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : The Druids Altar, peace and quiet, unlike Grassington during the Tour De Yorkshire.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : Do you think the out of place stone in the middle is the fourth stone?

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : Last came here so long ago I've got no digital pictures at all. So I came back.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : Lovely blue skies

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : A pretty good stone that, lots of character, for a stone.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Postman : Zooming over the stones to the settlement and field system.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar four poster (Yorkshire).

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) four poster.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar four poster (Yorkshire).

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar (Yorkshire).

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : Druid's Altar four poster (Yorkshire).

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by Bladup : The Druid's Altar.

Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)
Druid's Altar (Yorkshire) submitted by swatson : High, on the moors between Threshfield and Malham, can be found Druid's Altar. OS SD949652 (1 comment)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.

Paul Kenyon`s Database by Paul Kenyon


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 229m ESE 105° Hammond Close Stone (Threshfield) Standing Stones (SD9516165209)
 551m NE 45° Lantern Holes (Bordley)* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD95336566)
 561m SE 129° Hammond Close (Threshfield)* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD95386492)
 1.6km ESE 114° Heights Cave* Cave or Rock Shelter (SD96446460)
 2.6km E 89° Chapel House Wood* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD9750165316)
 2.7km N 3° Kilnsey* Stone Circle (SD951680)
 2.9km E 95° Brazen Gate* Round Cairn (SD9785964995)
 3.5km ESE 106° Little Wood* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD98266429)
 3.6km N 3° Douky Bottom Ring (Arncliffe) Ancient Village or Settlement (SD9512668887)
 3.6km N 4° Dowkerbottom Cave* Cave or Rock Shelter (SD95176889)
 3.8km N 4° Douky Bottom Settlement (Arncliffe) Ancient Village or Settlement (SD9520369067)
 4.2km W 272° Seaty Hill (Malham Moor) Cairn (SD9069265390)
 4.7km ENE 77° Lea Green cairn Cairn (SD995663)
 4.8km WSW 248° Malham settlements and field systems* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD905635)
 4.9km E 93° Cove Hole* Cave or Rock Shelter (SD99896499)
 5.1km W 270° Torlery Edge (Malham Moor) Ancient Village or Settlement (SD8978465292)
 5.3km E 90° Grassington Settlement Ancient Village or Settlement (SE0027765259)
 5.6km W 266° Comb Scar* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD89366485)
 5.6km NW 319° Dewbottoms (Arncliffe) Ancient Village or Settlement (SD912695)
 5.6km W 263° Ing Scar* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD8931964626)
 5.9km ESE 111° The Linton Stones* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SE0042763177)
 5.9km ESE 110° Linton Churchyard Cross* Ancient Cross (SE0053963220)
 6.0km NNW 343° Blue Scar (Arncliffe)* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD93237100)
 6.2km E 88° Yarnbury Settlement (Grassington) Ancient Village or Settlement (SE012655)
 6.2km W 260° Jorden Scar* Ancient Village or Settlement (SD88776419)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Stoney Littleton

Tongue Croft >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales

Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales

Archived Web links for Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)

Paul Kenyon`s Database by Paul Kenyon

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Druid's Altar (Yorkshire)" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
bordley stones/mound by drolaf on Saturday, 01 October 2022
(User Info | Send a Message)
What is left is possibly 4 uprights on a mound. That they are on a mound suggests Feather and Manby might have had a good guess for a chambered tomb. The view of Pendle does seem important, as it is also seen from Yarnbury henge and the stone circle over at Fancarl top.

[ Reply to This ]

Re: Taste of the past: stone circle, hut circle and ancient enclosures, Fri 27th July by Andy B on Saturday, 14 July 2012
(User Info | Send a Message)
Debbie Hallam writes:

Over the years, many dedicated local historians, interested amateurs and locals have surveyed the area around Bordley and beyond, collecting flints, noting earthworks and cairns, discovering and recording archaeological features and generally keeping historical oral tradition alive.

Today we are able to build on this knowledge as we have the benefit of being able to utilise modern technology to look at the area from above and make some interpretation for further study. Aerial photography has made it possible to seethe area from in the wider countryside context, picking out features not visible or comprehensible at ground level.

The Bordley area has not been subject to any excavation therefore the features of potential archaeology can only be interpreted by localised knowledge of the area, appearance above ground of any upstanding remains, historical land usage and field names, and chance finds from field walking. Geophysical surveying can assist in giving a non intrusive indication of ‘anomalies’ but of course it is best suited to a reasonably small and accessible area and for our area and for our project this is likely to be in the lower areas around Bordley Hall farm.

We know the earliest evidence of man’s interest in our area is recovered in the form of flints used as tools such as blades, scrapers, and projectiles, possibly heralding the arrival of the first farmers of the Neolithic period over 6 -7000years ago. An agricultural lifestyle would require settlement nearby and small clusters of enclosures such as that at grid ref SD934672 may have housed our early farmers and/or their animals. We are yet to determine any structure as a definite habitation as it is not until the Iron Age that housing may have been substantial enough to leave any above ground remains. There is also the possibility that a house or hut site was handed down through the ages and successively rebuilt on, leaving only the foundations of the last structure visible to us.

Stone circles are another feature which occurs on the perimeter of our project area. These may simply be stone clearance by farmers but it is also possible that they could have housed a burial or cremation remains. In one or two areas there are groupings of stones formed in a roughly circular alignment and these require surveying and recording to allow further analysis.

Mastiles Lane is a very strong presence in our area and although much attributed to being a monastic way, it may well have pre-existed as a track way well back into the prehistoric period and certainly was in existence at the time of Romanisation. From a prehistoric prospect Bordley must be viewed in conjunction with the areas adjoining, such as Malhamdale, Kilnsey and Grassington as it is highly unlikely that anything happened at Bordley in isolation of the other areas. The higher ground above Bordley has long been a droving route and management and farming of animals over the millennia has been a primary occupation in the hills and lowland areas.

To further increase our knowledge of the Bordley prehistory we intend to do the following:
Have a discovery session at Skipton and Grassington Museums to locate any flints finds from Bordley
Investigate any prehistoric pottery finds
Investigate any available documentation regarding excavation activity either recently or by ‘Philosophical Societies’ in early 20thc.
Survey and collate a record of features found by the group on Discovery Walks for further analysis
Build on localised knowledge from the farming community and residents
Look at parallels found in the wider area and compare
Feedback findings to the project community

We would encourage anyone of any ability to assist us in this work. No matter how small a contribution, please contact Janis for more information.
Finally we offer our thanks to all the members of the Bordley farming

Read the rest of this post...
[ Reply to This ]

Taste of the past: stone circle, hut circle and ancient enclosures, Fri 27th July by Andy B on Saturday, 14 July 2012
(User Info | Send a Message)
Taste of the past: stone circle, a lime kiln, hut circle and ancient enclosures, Fri 27 July

County: North Yorkshire

Fri 27 July; 11.00-15.00

Family field day comprising a guided walk and activities exploring sites of early settlement and archaeological activity in and around the area known locally as 'Lantern Holes'. Stout footwear, waterproofs, sun hat and sun cream required plus packed lunch and plenty of water. No toilet facilities or shops. No unaccompanied children under 16.

Location: Nearly Bordley Green BD23 6NE. Meet at NGR SD 951 653 on Malham Moor Lane near the cattle grid. Off-road parking available.

Org: Bordley Township Project
Name: Ann Wilkinson
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://bordleytownship.com

Part of the Festival of British Archaeology 2012
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
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.