There is no other megalith in Somerset or the Bristol region which has such a wealth of folklore surrounding it than “Old Wimble”. Difficult to find and away from pub lic footpaths in the upper valley of Towerhead Brook, this six foot high wedge-like slab of dolomitic conglomerate appears more animate than simple stone. It is certainly the most atmospheric of the west Mendip monoliths and it is not hard to sympathise with the derivation of its name from the local dialect word for quick or lively.
There are two strands of lore surrounding The Wimblestone: that it can walk freely over the countryside and that it sits on a pile of gold. Numerous tales are told of people trying to uproot the stone and claim its treasure, such as that of the man who hitched his mighty team of oxen to the stone but as they took the strain they all fell down dead. Another farmer tried with his two strongest horses but even when he tugged as well, the task was fruitless and they crept home beaten and exhausted. As soon as they were out of sight Old Wimble uprooted himself and ranged over the hills to the Waterstone at Wrington, 9km to the north-east, to take a drink at its never-failing basin of water and tell it of the farmer’s stupidity.
A general belief says that misfortune will fall on those who dig for the treasure, but others have seen the prize by chance, such as the haymaker Zebedee Fry who, walking down Shipham Lane one night, saw the Wimblestone dancing around its field and a pile of gold lying where it had stood. It is said that the stone dances on the first moon in May but on other nights he is content to simply walk and does so when he hears the clock strike twelve. On one of his rambles Wimble got tired and lay down for a rest. In the moonlight a farmer mistook him for a trespassing cow and gave him a blow with his stick.
Infuriated, the stone reared up and rolled at the terrified man who fled to Rowberrow churchyard. The stone could not enter the consecrated ground and stood outside all night; the trembling farmer has to wait there until dawn when Wimble was forced to roll home.
Source and References: Phil Quinn's article The Forgotten Stones of
West Mendip, in 3rd Stone Issue 25 (Spring 1997) page 15
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