When you get to end of the long, straight road, you find yourself at Kingsdown Golf Club, and this is the main boundary wall. It is no ordinary wall, however.
On closer examination, you will see a fair number of prehistoric stones set into it, and rather than dig them out, ancient farmers have incorporated the line of them to form a boundary. The other side of this is a wheat field, but who knows how long it has been used for that?
A few yards further on, there is this strange niche set into the rubblework - it forms a line to an ancient earthwork. It is no stile.
Then - at the end of the 'wall', here is a large monolith, with a distinct slot carved into the top - for sighting a ley on the far, Wiltshire horizon? Something like that. It (the slot) must point in an easterly direction - I wonder if it is too fanciful to wonder if one of the solstice suns fills the gap when it rises? I'll have to give it a try. This stone has been there for many thousands of years.
Turn your back on the sighting stone, and here is the earthwork - plus a couple of golfers enjoying an early morning game, and heading for...
... these three (or more) dolmens. The bank carries on into the wood for a long way - now overgrown with trees. Follow the line of the earthwork, and - as the crow flies - it is no more than about a quarter of a mile to....
... my workshop, where you can see that I still have not yet finished that stone head. That line crossed over at least two Romano British encampments which were fed with water - 1500 years ago - by the small brook that you cannot see in this photo, behind the gazebo. How I love England. ALL of this is a 10 minute drive from Bath City Centre. I said that I still used 18th century tools, and here are two of them - the chisel and the dividers. The mallet is about 1950, maybe, but is pretty much the same as an Egyptian one in the Masonic Hall at Great Queen Street. The fillet saw is possibly about 1800 ad. The dividers are probably about 300 years old, but still in use!
When you get to end of the long, straight road, you find yourself at Kingsdown Golf Club, and this is the main boundary wall. It is no ordinary wall, however. 
On closer examination, you will see a fair number of prehistoric stones set into it, and rather than dig them out, ancient farmers have incorporated the line of them to form a boundary. The other side of this is a wheat field, but who knows how long it has been used for that?
A few yards further on, there is this strange niche set into the rubblework - it forms a line to an ancient earthwork. It is no stile.
Then - at the end of the 'wall', here is a large monolith, with a distinct slot carved into the top - for sighting a ley on the far, Wiltshire horizon? Something like that. It (the slot) must point in an easterly direction - I wonder if it is too fanciful to wonder if one of the solstice suns fills the gap when it rises? I'll have to give it a try. This stone has been there for many thousands of years.
Turn your back on the sighting stone, and here is the earthwork - plus a couple of golfers enjoying an early morning game, and heading for...
... these three (or more) dolmens. The bank carries on into the wood for a long way - now overgrown with trees. Follow the line of the earthwork, and - as the crow flies - it is no more than about a quarter of a mile to....
... my workshop, where you can see that I still have not yet finished that stone head. That line crossed over at least two Romano British encampments which were fed with water - 1500 years ago - by the small brook that you cannot see in this photo, behind the gazebo. How I love England. ALL of this is a 10 minute drive from Bath City Centre. I said that I still used 18th century tools, and here are two of them - the chisel and the dividers. The mallet is about 1950, maybe, but is pretty much the same as an Egyptian one in the Masonic Hall at Great Queen Street. The fillet saw is possibly about 1800 ad. The dividers are probably about 300 years old, but still in use!
It's an England I could nearly love too. If only they switched off the satellite tv, I'd go back. There's a solid humanity about what you depict here.
ReplyDeleteThe love shows Tom...
ReplyDeleteThat is so super cool! It makes me long for England too. And your love of the country is very clear too. *sigh* I miss it. With all my heart.
ReplyDeleteYour workshop looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI never cease to be amazed by the number of ancient monuments/sites etc in England. Scratch her surface and up pops another one!
I've just noticed in two of the photos that the base of the walls are blue. Is this from treatment with Copper Sulphate? It reminds me of certain walls over here where there have been vines that have been sprayed over the decades.
ReplyDeleteYep - they've beensprayed by the club, Cro. I am using another compuyor right now, coz my modem's finally died - I think. I may be a bit quiet in the next few days.
ReplyDeletePhew - I've just installed a new router.... be prepared for some more noise from me. Thanks for all your comments. I'll catch up soon.
ReplyDeleteP.P.S. The love for my country is a love for the topography and all the little eccentric, living, English things that manage to survive in amongst it, despite efforts by government managers to eradicate them (just to avoid any misunderstanding - I'd hate you to think of me as a 'patriot', although I would soon turn into one if Hitler rose from the dead and came to power again...).
ReplyDeleteMise - I daresay that you feel the same about Ireland as I do about here, and for pretty much the same reasons. I think it is saturated in just the same way, with the obvious little differences - no Romans for a start (no snakes either).
ReplyDeleteTom, thank you for putting that post up. The stone wall was really interesting - glad they left that ancient stone undisturbed. Love the countryside. And the picture of the old tools - Simplicity and precision. Wish they'd bring apprenticeships back - this country might get back on its feet again. Have a good day, Molly
ReplyDeleteSometimes, the abuse of ancient monuments is the one thing that actually saves them, Molly. Look up the Saxon church in Bradford on Avon - this is a prime example. If it were not for the farmers being too lazy to change wall delineations, then they would have been ploughed out. Sadly, the apprenticeship system was horribly abused, which is why it hardly exists now. The Germans have one with Zimmermen, and the rules are tight once you are qualified. Proper 'Journeymen'.
ReplyDeleteThere might even be hope for our house as well then. We've propped up the bits that fell down but we haven't altered it. And nobody did any repairs - the farming operations before the house every time. Hope somebody with enough cash loves the old barn after us to restore it properly. Where are the next generation of skill going to come from when we've only got managers.
ReplyDeleteThere is always a way Molly - I really believe that. If something falls apart for lack of wherewithall, then so be it. Same goes for countries, I am afraid. Britain has been rebuilding itself for 1000s of years.
ReplyDelete