Four Stones, New Radnor

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Bronze Age, menhir, neolithic, prehistory, Radnorshire, standing stone, Wales

Though it has somehow escaped my notice for an embarrassing number of years, I live in the heart of an area that has a good claim to be one of the most important Neolithic sites in Europe. Five thousand years ago tribes gathered here from across Britain, and chose to mark the land with stone and timber structures, some of enormous size. The stones live on, mostly, and I thought I would make it my business to visit and acknowledge as many as possible. I begin with the best known locally, the Four Stones near New Radnor. They stand pretty much midway on a line between the domed summits of the Whimble and Burfa Camp. Old Radnor church is just visible in the distance, and contains a massive stone font that may once have been part of this circle, and certainly long predates the church. When the church bells are heard, the stones are said to visit the nearby Hindwell Pond for a drink . . .

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Larch Grove menhir, Llandegley

I suspect this stone is deeply hidden among the furze for much of the year – certainly others seem to have had a hard time finding it. It is marked as a recumbent stone, with what is probably the broken top section lying beside it, though I think it would look upright if the broken piece were ever to be replaced. The eastern face is relatively smooth and richly stained with orange iron deposits, while the west-facing side is deeply pitted by the weather. Standing where it does, on relatively low-lying marshy ground, I imagine this stone as having once stood in a clearing among the birch and alder trees that covered much of Britain in prehistoric times – a sacred grove, perhaps. It’s actually named for the roadside cottage nearby, originally an inn called The Drover’s Arms.

The heavily weathered west side

Llandegley Rocks in the background, with a Bronze Age settlement at the right-hand end of the ridge

The hills of the Radnor Forest in the background

Bryn-y-Maen standing stone

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Bryn-y-Maen

More properly described as recumbent, it lies, shaped like a rocking stone, at the summit of the hill above the small lake of Llynheilyn, with spectacular views in every direction but most of all to the west. Its level upper surface is heavily weathered and pitted, but still suggests an altar. Perhaps it never stood upright. In any case, I don’t know a better stone to lean against while watching the sun set over mid-Wales.

Cefn Wylfre stone circle

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cefn wylfre, prehistory, Radnorshire, stone circle

This small circle proved very difficult to find, despite being on wide open moorland. It was invisible from fifty yards distance, only the yellowed grass (in what must once have been a ditch around the circumference) eventually giving away its position. A solitary boulder, presumably a glacial erratic, is the only stone now visible above the heather. A lovely walk up from Glascwm, though partly across a commercial grouse moor where the landowner has seen fit to set up so-called ‘stink bins’, filled with rotting carcasses and surrounded by snares for trapping foxes and the like.

Fedw stone circle

According to Cadw, this Bronze Age circle was largely intact until at least 1860, with 37 stones still standing. By the time of the Great War, though, the site had been badly damaged and the stones brought down. The circle remains clear in outline, with views of Cwm Maerdy (see previous post) a few fields to the north and also of the Iron Age settlement of Graig Fawr on a hilltop to the west. It is curious to think of these largely silent hills and valleys buzzing with life and activity three thousand years ago.

Cwm Maerdy standing stone, Llandegley

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Cwm Maerdy, menhir, Radnorshire, standing stone

Surprisingly difficult to find at first, despite being just off an alleged right-of-way. Once found, though, it’s hard to imagine how I could have missed it. With the evening sun catching its western face, the stone is visible from every ridge and hilltop around.

The marked path has long since been ploughed up and fenced off, and a plantation of conifers has been established nearby since the area was last mapped. Worth the effort, though, as the position is spectacular. It lies midway between the Norman motte of Castell Crugerydd, just off the A44, and the remains of an early Iron Age settlement at Graig Fawr.

Bryn-y-Maen Stone Row and Barrow

Above Llanfihangel, on the road to Builth Wells, a steep bridle track leads up to this alignment of stones leading to a low tumulus. Whoever lies here is lucky in their burial place.

St Stephen’s Church, Old Radnor

This fifteenth-century church stands on a prominent mound, and replaces a much earlier building. There are several possible standing stones in the churchyard, the largest having been reused as a gravestone in 1931. The enormous plain font is of unknown age, but certainly long before the Normans came. It has all the calm presence and sense of purpose of a Henry Moore.

Kinnerton Court Stone I

Close to the Four Stones (above), it bears an obvious relationship to the summit of the Whimble. There is also a second stone I have yet to find, possibly buried in a nearby hedge.

The Hoarstone, Knobley

Also known as the Oarstone or Knobley Stone. It stands very precisely on the line between the Whimble and Burfa Camp. The farmer on whose land it lies has drawn inspiration from the area’s prehistory, and has made an artificial pond in his garden in which stand several sizeable modern menhirs.