THE ROLLRIGHT STONES

The Rollright Stones The Rollright Stones are situated on the Warwickshire-Oxfordshire border, at a sacred site, on a hilltop, above the Warwickshire village of Long Compton. The Rollright Stones were erected between 2500-2000BC. There is also evidence of some other settlements in Warwickshire at that time, from pottery discovered between Warwick and Coventry. The stone monuments at Rollright and their nearby burial chambers, are characteristic of some Neolithic peoples, who had sophisticated beliefs about the afterlife. We sometimes think of British history as beginning with the Roman conquest, and many history books begin around 100 BC. But these monuments were already 2000 years old then. They stretch back over an immense span of time, as far back again as the Roman conquest is from us.

The Rollright Stones is a group of 3 separate stone monuments, within a few hundred yards of each other. The monuments are all constructed from large pieces of local Cotswold limestone.

The King's Men The most extensive monument is a ceremonial stone circle known as the King's Men. This is a ring of 77 stones, about 100 feet in diameter. The stone circle is currently surrounded by a slightly wooded glade of fir trees.

The trees around the stone circle are open on the Eastern side, allowing a view to the horizon. The rising of the Sun and, more importantly, the Moon, had special meanings to some ancient peoples. From one spiritual perspective they symbolised the resurrection of their King. That idea may have had greater importance for the society, and a deeper meaning, than it does today.

The King Stone About 100 yards from the King's Men, across a road, and overlooking the village of Long Compton, is a single large upright stone, the King Stone. The stone was erected beside a long barrow, an ancient burial mound, which was built on the top of the hill.

This is a view towards the village of Long Compton from the King Stone. On this occasion it was not initially possible to see Long Compton from the King Stone, as the village below was obscured in fog. Whether it was purely a meteorological condition, or some strange witchcraft, that prevents Long Compton from being seen from the King Stone, I do not know.

The fog had a strange quality. I just walked down the road to look at the Whispering Knights (photos below), and when I got back to the King Stone the fog had gone, giving this unobstructed view of the village. This photo was taken about 10 minutes after the mist-shrouded view above. The black marks in the foreground of both pictures are tractor tyre marks.

The Whispering Knights About 400 yards from the King's Men, in a location that doesn't seem to have any special significance today, is a group of 5 large stones, known as the Whispering Knights.

The Whispering Knights formed a Neolithic burial chamber, a long barrow. These stones were originally erected in an arch-like structure, the stones forming walls, with a roof slab. The whole structure had then been covered with earth to form a chamber inside an artificial hill, a long barrow. Over the course of 4 millennia, the chamber has been looted, the soil removed, and the stone structure has collapsed. The photo at the right was taken at the same time as the photo above. The photo above looks dark because it was taken from the opposite side of the stones, looking into the Sun.

What Does It Mean? The casual visitor may wonder about comparisons with other ancient stone monuments, Stonehenge and maybe Egypt, which were also built at roughly the same time, and may have been built for similar enigmatic religious purposes. What did these people believe, and how did they arrive at their beliefs? Were similar beliefs universal, and how did they come to be that way?

Who Lived Here? A History of Britain - Skara Brae Simon Schama's recent BBC TV series A History of Britain began by visiting Skara Brae, near Maes Howe in the Orkneys. This map show the locations of Neolithic stone monuments in Britain.
Skara Brae is a well preserved village dating from 2500BC, about the same time as Rollright, and which gives a good idea of the people who built Rollright. These were a domesticated and civilised people. Here Simon Schama is showing some of their tools, ornaments, and artwork.
Most remarkable are the efforts these people expended on tombs for their dead. Nearby are huge standing stones and stone circles. Schama visted a Neolithic barrow with underground tomb at nearby Meas Howe. The pyramid-like mound, with the burial tombs at its centre, led Simon Schama to describe the barrows as "Britain's Pyramids".
These high-vaulted and well made underground tombs were elaborately decorated, and loaded with ornaments. Considerable communal efforts would have been required for their construction.

Long Compton lies on the A34 Birmingham-Stratford-Oxford Road. J R Tolkien was a local author whose home was near the Birmingham end of this road, and was familiar with the area. These evocative passages are from his chapter "Fog on the Barrow-Downs": Those hills were crowned with green mounds and on some were standing stones pointing upwards like jagged teeth out of green gums. There stood a single stone standing tall under the sun above. These blades were forged many long years ago by the Men of Westernesse. Few now remember them, Tom murmured. The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of men, tall and grim.

"Jagged teeth in green gums" The legend of Long Compton and the Rollright Stones is also described in Professor T A Shippey's book about J R Tolkien, The Road to Middle Earth. It is under a heading "Magyk Natureel", and the passage ends with a quote from The Lord of the Rings: If there's any magic about, it's right down deep where I can't lay my hands on it, in a manner of speaking. Yes, agrees Frodo, You can see and feel it everywhere.

There are many tales and legends, mainly originating from Tudor times, about the Rollright Stones and the village of Long Compton. There are more details of these, and detailed directions for finding the Stones, at The Friends of Rollright Stones. In order to find these stones, you need to have good map, or good directions, because they are not sign-posted.