The Culbone Stone, an early mediaeval standing stone, is close to Culbone in the English county of Somerset. The stone is made from Hangman grit, a local sandstone, and has a wheeled ring cross carved into it. The stone has been scheduled as an ancient monument. [1]
The stone lies in woodland close to the boundary between Oare and Porlock on a permissive path through private land. [2] It is approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) in height and 20 inches (510 mm) wide with a maximum depth of 8 inches (200 mm). [3]
It is made of Hangman grit a local sandstone which represents the Middle Devonian sequence of North Devon and Somerset. The unusual freshwater deposits in the Hangman Grits were mainly formed in desert conditions. [4]
At the top of the stone is an incised wheeled ring cross, with a diameter of 0.11 metres (4.3 in) which is a Christian symbol, the style of which suggests it dates from 7th to 9th century. One arm of the cross at the lower right extends out of the circle. [5] A slightly earlier date of the 6th or 7th century has also been suggested. [6]
The stone was discovered recumbent in 1939 or 1940 and placed upright at the location in which it was found. It has been suggested that the stone has been moved from its original site as part of the nearby Culbone Hill Stone Row. [5] One of the stones in the row also has an inscribed cross. [7]
The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956.
Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. Exmoor is more precisely defined as the area of the former ancient royal hunting forest, also called Exmoor, which was officially surveyed 1815–1818 as 18,810 acres (7,610 ha) in extent. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and 55 km (34 mi) of the Bristol Channel coast. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is 692.8 km2 (267.5 sq mi), of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon.
Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440.
Dunster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast of Minehead and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 817.
Dunkery Beacon at the summit of Dunkery Hill is the highest point on Exmoor and in Somerset, England. It is also the highest point in southern England outside of Dartmoor.
Brompton Regis is a village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Dulverton. It is situated on the River Pulham in the Brendon Hills within the Exmoor National Park, close to Wimbleball Lake, a water supply reservoir constructed in the 1970s and completed in 1979. According to the 2011 census the village had a population of 449. The parish boundary is marked by the River Exe which is crossed by the medieval Chilly Bridge and Hele Bridge. The Haddeo is crossed by Bury Bridge.
Somerset is a rural county in the southwest of England, covering 4,171 square kilometres (1,610 sq mi). It is bounded on the north-west by the Bristol Channel, on the north by Bristol and Gloucestershire, on the north-east by Wiltshire, on the south-east by Dorset, and on the south west and west by Devon. It has broad central plains with several ranges of low hills. The landscape divides into four main geological sections from the Silurian through the Devonian and Carboniferous to the Permian which influence the landscape, together with water-related features.
Withypool is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Withypool and Hawkridge, in the Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, near the centre of Exmoor National Park and close to the border with Devon. The word Withy means "willow". The parish of Withypool and Hawkridge, covers 3,097 hectares, includes the village of Hawkridge and has a population around 201.
Oare is a village and civil parish on Oare Water on Exmoor in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Lynton and the parish includes the hamlet of Oareford and the village of Culbone which contains its own tiny church.
Luccombe or Luckham is a village and civil parish in the Exmoor National Park in the English county of Somerset. It at the foot of the moor's highest hill, the 1,750 feet (533 m) Dunkery Beacon, and is about one mile south of the A39 road between Porlock and Minehead. Administratively it forms part of the district of Somerset West and Taunton. The parish includes the hamlets of Stoke Pero and Horner, as well as the former hamlet of Wilmersham.
Culbone is a hamlet consisting of little more than the parish church and a few houses, in the parish of Oare in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. As there is no road access it is a two-mile walk from Porlock Weir, and some four miles from Porlock itself.
Wills Neck is the highest summit on the Quantock Hills and one of the highest points in Somerset, England. Although only 1261 ft (384 m) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns. It is situated about 8 miles (13 km) north west of the historic market town of Taunton.
The Dovecot At Blackford Farm in Selworthy on Exmoor within the English county of Somerset was probably built in the 11th century. It is a Grade II* listed building, and scheduled monument.
The Exmoor Group is a late Devonian to early Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group in southwest England whose outcrop extends from Croyde in north Devon east across Exmoor to Minehead in west Somerset. The group comprises the following formations the:
Haddon Hill is a prominent east–west aligned ridge in west Somerset, England, close to Hartford within the civil parish of Brompton Regis. It lies on the south-eastern fringe of Exmoor National Park though is separated from the Exmoor massif itself by the valleys of the rivers Haddeo and Exe The highest point of the ridge at OS grid reference SS 962286 is crowned by a trig point at 1,164 feet (355 m) above sea level. Much of the upper part of the hill is mapped as open access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and hence available for public access on foot. A couple of public footpaths traverse the hill north–south whilst numerous tracks run along its length. The larger part of the hill is within the national park, the boundary of which runs along the B3190 road which runs diagonally across the eastern end of the ridge en route from Watchet to Bampton. Vehicular access is available off this road. The hill affords views across Wimbleball Reservoir which occupies the Haddeo valley immediately to its north.
Porlock Stone Circle is a stone circle located on Exmoor, near the village of Porlock in the south-western English county of Somerset. The Porlock ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circles' builders.
Withypool Stone Circle, also known as Withypool Hill Stone Circle, is a stone circle located on the Exmoor moorland, near the village of Withypool in the southwestern English county of Somerset. The ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3300 and 900 BCE. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders.
The geology of Exmoor National Park in south-west England contributes significantly to the character of Exmoor, a landscape which was designated as a national park in 1954. The bedrock of the area consists almost wholly of a suite of sedimentary rocks deposited during the Devonian, a period named for the English county of Devon in which the western half of the park sits. The eastern part lies within Somerset and it is within this part of the park that limited outcrops of Triassic and Jurassic age rocks are to be found.
West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. It merged with Taunton Deane to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019.
West Somerset was a local government district located in the English county of Somerset. It merged with Taunton Deane to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019.
