<< Our Photo Pages >> Westfield Farm Refuge Stone - Early Christian Sculptured Stone in Scotland in West Lothian
Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 11 October 2017 Page Views: 2826
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Westfield Farm Refuge Stone Alternative Name: Torphichen Preceptory Sanctuary Stone at Westfield FarmCountry: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 3.103 km away from the location you searched for.
County: West Lothian Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Bathgate Nearest Village: Westfield
Map Ref: NS94377211
Latitude: 55.930414N Longitude: 3.692243W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Enki visited on 10th Feb 2019 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Westfield Farm refuge stone is somewhat similar to the sanctuary stone in the churchyard at Torphichen, being a bit narrower at the base and it clearly appears to have been worked on at least two sides. It's considerably larger however.
There is faint evidence of some tantalising scratchings that could possibly (with some imagination) be Ogham writing on the south face but are probably just foliage marks.
Access was easy at this time of year as the shrubbery is pretty minimal, and I had no trouble finding the stone. There's a fairly clear path up the mound from the track that I took, discovering on the way back down that I'd missed the stairs that are now very overgrown.
Anne T visited on 30th Sep 2017 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 2 Access: 4 Westfield Farm Refuge Stone (possibly prehistoric), West Lothian: Our last day for exploring before heading home, and this was a day we’d set aside during the week to try and find some of the refuge stones associated with Torphichen Preceptory. We didn’t have a detailed map for this area, and didn’t pass a place to buy one, so had to make do with mobile phones and Canmore records.
The Westfield Farm Refuge Stone is situated to the east of Westfield Village, south of the B8047, near a ‘fish food factory’. Driving through Westfield village on the B8028, we turned right onto the B8047 and followed it round a couple of bends and found the factory. Just before the factory, located on a bend, I spotted a sign saying ‘Refuge Stone’, heading off south east through some wasteland.
We managed to park just by the sign, in a small layby which had been used for fly-tipping. Following the very vague footpath through the wooded area, this eventually disappeared and we were left surrounded by birch trees and weeds. Through the shrubbery there was a mound, and peering closer, there was a set of very overgrown steps that had been cut into the bank. Climbing up these, and hunting around some more, we finally spotted this much neglected stone virtually hidden in the weeds. I trod down some of the taller weeds to see the stone more clearly.
A treasure, but one hidden away in a tumble of brambles, nettles and detritus. It looked as if no-one had visited this stone in a long time. I was very pleased to have found it.
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 3 Access: 4
Recorded as Canmore ID 48010, their records tell us that the Maltese Cross engraved on this stone was recorded as having been effaced by 1951. It had apparently fallen during Home Guard manoeuvres, but sometime between the end of WW2 and 1998, it had been re-erected in an old field bank.
More excitingly, in 1998 a small excavation was carried out. The stone was originally thought to be associated with Torphichen Preceptory but "it now appears that the stone may be part of a much larger, possibly prehistoric, site. The 2 x 2m trench uncovered a stone-built structure, greater than the size of the trench. As the structure appeared to be too large to excavate and define within the restraints of the contract, the trench was immediately backfilled once recording was completed."
This stone is signposted as 'The Refuge Stone', south east of Westfield Village off the B8047, just before reaching what was described to us as the 'fish food factory' (but is actually a producer of nutrition/food for fish) and near the now demolished paper mill site. Following the disused footpath south, this eventually disappears after just over 100 metres and you are left in a small clearing with a mound rising up to your left hand side. Pushing through the shrubbery, there is a very overgrown set of steps which lead up to the top of the mound. The stone can be found towards the edge of the mound as it drops down to the field below, more or less directly in front of the steps.
This stone is also featured on Ancient Stones: A Guide to Standing Stones and Stone Circles in the South of Scotland - see their entry for Refuge Stone, Westfield, Torphichen, whic includes a description, directions for finding this site together with nearby parking and fieldnotes.
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