<< Our Photo Pages >> Mont de la Ville - Passage Grave in England in Berkshire

Submitted by TheCaptain on Sunday, 20 June 2021  Page Views: 23417

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Mont de la Ville Alternative Name: The Druids Temple (Henley on Thames)
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.825 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Berkshire Type: Passage Grave
Nearest Town: Henley on Thames
Map Ref: SU77968140
Latitude: 51.526142N  Longitude: 0.87763W
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
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 5 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

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Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL : Mount de la ville megalith in the 1990s (Vote or comment on this photo)
A passage grave relocated from Mont de la Ville, St Helier, Jersey in 1788. It was re-erected as a folly in the grounds of a private estate south of the River Thames near Henley.

Glyn Daniel, in "Megaliths in History" has the following to say (pp 45-6):

"We must mention here the megalithic monument at Park Place near Henley. It is not a mock megalith or folly; it is a genuine antiquity but has no right to be in southern Britain. In August 1785 a Colonel of the St Helier Militia in Jersey was having a piece of land levelled for a parade ground somewhere on the site later occupied by the Fort Regent. The men digging came across a megalithic monument usually called the "Mont de la Ville".

It was offered to the Governor of Jersey, Marshall Conway, by the Vingtaine de la Ville as a gift from the island he had served so well. He hesitated to accept this unusual present especially when he learned he would have to pay for the cost of transporting the megalith. Horace Walpole wrote to him, "Pray do not disappoint me but transport the Cathedral of your island to your domain on our continent."

In March 1788 the stones, stowed in a barge, passed up the Thames to Conway's house outside Henley. Horace Walpole took a great interest in! the proceedings and said that the monument had been correctly assembled, but this is doubtful.

The monument now stands on a hill overlooking the Thames: it bears a simple inscription: "Cet ancien Temple des Druides decouvert le 12me Aout 1785 sur le Montagne de St Helier dans l'isle de Jersey, a ete presente par les Habitans a son Excellence le General Conway, Leur Gouverneur"

Note: Mont de la Ville reconstructed passage grave is now owned by James Corden, who recently bought the property. Based on interest from the public the Government of Jersey have asked if they could have their stones back! It was a gift from them originally, not stolen we should add. Poll: Should James Corden give the Mont de la Ville stones back to Jersey? Vote here.
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Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL : Mount de la ville megalith in the 1990s (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL : As promised on the ground photos of the Mount de la Ville Megalith. In the 1990s I happened to visit the site in search of the owner to ask permission. He was out and I just had a look anyhow. Strangely I bumped into him on the way out, he wasn't 100% happy but I suppose didn't get arrested. Don't try to wander in though just in case! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL : Mount de la ville megalith in the 1990s (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by JJ : Mont de la Ville Dolmen, uprooted from Jersey and rebuilt near Henley-on-Thames. Tracked down by JJ Evendon Glyn Daniel, in "Megaliths in History" has the following to say (pp 45-6): "We must mention here the megalithic monument at Park Place near Henley. It is not a mock megalith or folly; it is a genuine antiquity but has no right to be in southern Britain. In August 1785 a Colonel of the... (1 comment)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by JJ : Mont de la Ville Dolmen, uprooted from Jersey and rebuilt near Henley-on-Thames. Tracked down by JJ Evendon (1 comment)

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by JJ : Mont de la Ville Dolmen, uprooted from Jersey and rebuilt near Henley-on-Thames. Tracked down and photographed from a light plane by JJ Evendon

Mont de la Ville
Mont de la Ville submitted by HOLYWELL : Mount de la ville megalith in the 1990s. Close up of the plaque on the tomb described by one of the contributors. The structure despite being obviously ancient does appear a little unrealistic and it was afterall a folly.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
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"Mont de la Ville" | Login/Create an Account | 15 News and Comments
  
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Re: Mont de la Ville - Update on James Corden's Megalithic monument by AngieLake on Saturday, 20 May 2023
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Just noticed this article in DailyMailonline:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/usshowbiz/article-12072639/James-Corden-invites-experts-study-ancient-stone-circle-8-5M-Berkshire-estate.html#comments
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by RogerJeffery on Thursday, 15 July 2021
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The monument has lost any context it might have had in the move, which is a pity.

Unless there are any reliable records of how it used to stand, the results would just
be a jumble of misappropriation, as they look today.

James should not feel particularly guilty about it, apart from choosing to live in a colony of excess like Henley! Close enough to the old stomping grounds to validate, but not too close eh?

The present set up looks like the contrivance of a very bored five year old and has no feel of the genuine article.

If I were James, unless the complainants are going to find some contemporary sketch or painting re the original placings and context, and how it might be re-installed in its original position or have any sort of plan to stop them being given away to the next political grandee or sponsor who calls ( sounds familiar) I would be suggesting to complainants to be looking for something else to stuff their pipes with....


[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by hoya105 on Thursday, 08 July 2021
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I think it would be best to 'repatriate' the stones back to Jersey - they should go back to where they were originally.... but if they have built there maybe as close as possible.
Jersey should pay to do so - they allowed their heritage to be taken in the first place...
Perhaps Mr Corden might make a donation towards it - for the public good....
If it is not moved there should be access granted - at least several times a year - for the public.
Any monument on private land should be accessible as much as is reasonably possible - it is ALL of our heritage after all!!
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by Anonymous on Tuesday, 29 June 2021
James Cordon is well within his rights to keep the monument, but it would be best given back where it can be appreciated in situ.
[ Reply to This ]

Politicians in Jersey ask James Corden for their Stones back by Andy B on Sunday, 20 June 2021
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JAMES CORDEN is being asked to return a prehistoric monument in the grounds of his new home near Henley to its native Jersey. The actor, comedian and US chat show host bought Templecombe House with his wife Julia for £8.5 million in December.

The purchase included a Grade II listed Neolithic stone circle, known as the Mont de la Ville dolmen, or Druids’ Temple, which was unearthed at St Helier on Jersey during the late 18th century.

The stones were later shipped by barge to the Park Place estate, off Wargrave Road, by Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway, commander-in-chief of the British forces.

Conway was gifted the stones in 1788 when he was governor of Jersey after erecting a series of defence towers to prevent the French from invading the island.

He was also leader of the House of Commons during the reign of George III and the humpback bridge on Wargrave Road is named after him.

Now Jersey’s government ministers have agreed to ask the Cordens to repatriate the stones, which can’t be seen by the public. If the couple agree, the dolmen could go on display at Fort Regent, a 19th-century fortification which now stands on the hill where the stones were dug up.

In 1985 a plaque was erected there to mark their removal.

Deputy Kirsten Morel, the island’s culture minister, was inspired by emails from the public and conversations with colleagues who support the idea in principle.

He told the Jersey Evening Post that the island’s chief minister supported the idea, which he found “very interesting” but it depended on the owners’ support.

He said: “This is not a situation like the Elgin Marbles because the dolmen was a gift from Jersey, so there is no argument for having it back as a matter of principle. It would be a lovely idea but there is a long way to go.”

It’s understood that Wokingham Borough Council would have to grant planning permission because removing the listed stones might constitute “demolition”.

More in the Henley Standard
https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/home/163030/give-back-our-old-stones-james.html

and the Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9704421/Jersey-politicians-ask-James-Corden-remove-prehistoric-stone-circle-garden.html
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by Anonymous on Wednesday, 04 September 2019
I think this site should be visited by the schools in the area ,although it is obviously not in its original site apparently it was reconstructed in as near to what it had been originally and I think it is a fascinating monument 6
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by Anonymous on Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Me and my friend Barry Nuttley discovered this monument by chance whilst being on the farm land rented by mr Herring .we enacted the part of making a human sacrifice on the altar stone we imagined one of the stones were .we were interrupted by the owner of the land who appeared from nowhere and chastised us in no mean fashion by telling us this was a genuine place of ancient worship in its original setting in the Island of Jersey and sent us on our way with a flea in our ears
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Why is there a Neolithic Channel Islands monument in Henley? - and other questions by Andy B on Saturday, 14 July 2012
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Gerry Palmer writes: Archaeological conferences come up with some odd things, few more so than one on the Prehistory of the Channel islands that I just attended. The “Big Question” was to try to fix one of the “Big Problems” in Archaeology – why did the start of the Neolithic age take around 1200 years to cross the Channel from France to the UK?

A smaller question was “Why is there large a Neolithic Channel Islands tomb in Henley?”

On the outskirts of Henley, just past the drive to Templecombe, is a thick hedge. 150 yards behind this, on private land, is a very impressive and totally genuine Neolithic Passage Grave from around 3,000 BC. There is only one tiny thing wrong with it – it was moved from Jersey lock, stock and standing stone, in the late eighteenth century.

On 12th August 1785, the militia was levelling a hilltop to act as a parade ground, in an area that was later to become Fort Regent, in the strategically placed capital of St Helier. The soldiers “discovered” a megalithic monument that came to be called the “Mont de la Ville”.

(Actually, although this story has been generally accepted, it turns out that a Philip Morant read a paper about this tomb to the Society of Antiquaries in 1761, nearly twenty five years earlier!)

Read more at
http://www.archaeologyinmarlow.org.uk/2012/03/why-is-there-a-neolithic-channel-islands-monument-in-henley-and-other-questions/
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by Anonymous on Saturday, 23 April 2011
As a child living at what used to be Park Place Gardens in the 1950's I have many fond memories of picnics in the middle of the henge. The original house was still standing, but had been shut up for years. Many more fun memories exploring the inside of the house and climbing on the roof from what had been the servants' rooms in the attics. And dancing around in the mirrored ballroom. The house was not furnished, but I seem to remember there were still some books on the library shelves. Needless to say we were trespassing and once in a while had to run away from Mr. Jackson who owned the house at the time although he lived in another house further down the driveway that came out on the Wargrave road I think.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Mont de la Ville by Anonymous on Sunday, 30 January 2022
    I also remember as a child picnics and climbing on the henge stones, the smell of the thyme in the grass of what was once lawns, the pink dog roses along the fence nearby, and the huge and beautiful beech tree. Exploring the inside including the library, the ballroom mirrors, the dark basement, the attics, climbing out on the roof. Mr Jackson caught my brothers tossing down roof tiles. I also lived at Park Place Gardens in the 1950’s so I suspect the author of the preceding comment was a sibling of mine.

    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Mont de la Ville by coldrum on Monday, 10 August 2009
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Pastscape entry:

http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=245299
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Re: Mont de la Ville by TheCaptain on Wednesday, 03 September 2008
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Glyn Daniel, in "Megaliths in History" has the following to say (pp 45-6):

"We must mention here the megalithic monument at Park Place near Henley. It is not a mock megalith or folly; it is a genuine antiquity but has no right to be in southern Britain. In August 1785 a Colonel of the St Helier Militia in Jersey was having a piece of land levelled for a parade ground somewhere on the site later occuoied by the Fort Regent. The men digging came across a megalithic monument usually called the "Mont de la Ville". It was offered to the Governor of Jersey, Marshall Conway, by the Vingtaine de la Ville as a gift from the island he had served so well. He hesitated to accept this unusual present especially when he learned he would have to pay for the cost of transporting the megalith. Horace Walpole wrote to him, "Pray do not disappoint me but transport the Cathedral of your island to your domain on our continent." In March 1788 the stones, stowed in a barge, passed up the Thames to Conway's house outside Henley. Horace Walpole took a great interest in! the proceedings and said that the monument had been correctly assembled, but this is doubtful. The monument now stands on a hill overlooking the Thames: it bears a simple inscription: "Cet ancien Temple des Druides decouvert le 12me Aout 1785 sur le Montagne de St Helier dans l'isle de Jersey, a ete presente par les Habitans a son Excellence le General Conway, Leur Gouverneur"
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