The Hitching Stone

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The Hitching Stone
The Hitching Stone - geograph.org.uk - 1848712.jpg
The Hitching Stone, showing the fissure and rectangular hole known as the druid’s chair
LocationEarl Crag, Yorkshire
Nearest cityBradford
Coordinates 53°52′17″N2°01′18″W / 53.871513°N 2.021789°W / 53.871513; -2.021789
OS grid reference SD9841
Elevation1,200 ft (370 m)
Height21 ft (6.4 m)
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Location of The Hitching Stone in North Yorkshire

The Hitching Stone is a gritstone erratic block on Keighley Moor, North Yorkshire, near Earl Crag and the village of Cowling. [1] [2] [3] [4] It is very close to the border between North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire and the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire. [5]

Contents

It is said to be the largest boulder in Yorkshire at 29 feet (8.8 metres) long, 25 feet (7.6 metres) wide and 21 feet (6.4 metres) high. [6] It is also said to weigh a lot more than 1000 tonnes. [5]

Geography

The Hitching Stone is five miles (eight kilometres) from the town of Keighley and is at an elevation of 1,200 feet (370 metres). [7]

History

The Hitching Stone and all the other erratic boulders on Keighley Moor were put in place thousands to possibly millions of years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. [5] [8] The Hitching Stone most likely originally came from Earl Crag during this time. [3] As a result of the fact that The Hitching Stone lies at the borders of historic counties, ancient councils and parliaments met at the stone and markets, fairs, and other gatherings were also held at the stone, with the last fair being held in 1870. [6] [9]

Features

On the southern side of the boulder a large bath-like recess is found, that fills with rain water. A large recess in the western side of the stone is still known today as the Priests Chair. There is some speculation that the stone was used for religious rituals.


See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Hitching Stone". www.ukclimbing.com. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Hitching Stone". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Hitching Stone, Near Cowling, West Yorkshire". The Journal Of Antiquities. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Jarratt, Jim. "The Earl Crag Monuments". Ivory Towers and Dressed Stones.
  5. 1 2 3 "Winter Hill Stone, Keighley Moor, West Yorkshire". The Journal Of Antiquities. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  6. 1 2 "On the Bradford District's Western Boundary". www.bradfordhistorical.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Keighley, William; Holmes, Robert (1858). Keighley, past and present: or, An historical, topographical and statistical sketch of the town, parish and environs of Keighley, including Riddlesden, Marley, Hainworth, and some other places in the contiguous parish of Bingley; likewise an account of the ancient families which have flourished therein, with a brief memoir of the Rev. Theodore Dury, M.A., late rector of Keighley. Keighley (England): Arthur Hall, Virtue & Company. p. 127. at an elevation of 1,200 feet, and upwards of five miles from the town, stands an isolated and ponderous mass of coarse grit, called the 'Hitching Stone,'
  8. ↑ Hansen, Bent. "Pleistocene - History of Earth's climate". www.dandebat.dk. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Paul., Bennett (2003). The old stones of Elmet. Somerset: Capall Bann Publishing. ISBN   9781861631343. OCLC   961022287.

Further reading

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