Nine Stones Close
Nine Stones Close (or Nine Stone Close) (grid reference SK225626) is a Bronze Age stone circle near Winster in Derbyshire, England. It is sometimes known as Grey Ladies.[1]
Location in Derbyshire | |
Location | Derbyshire |
---|---|
Coordinates | 53°09′38″N 1°39′52″W |
Type | Stone circle |
History | |
Periods | Bronze Age |
Description
Nine Stones Close is a small stone circle is located on the edge of Harthill Moor in Derbyshire, part of a rich prehistoric landscape which includes Bronze Age barrows and settlement enclosures.[2] It consists of four remaining upright stones which were originally part of a circle of around 30m in diameter, plus the sites of several others which were removed in the 18th and 19th centuries.[2] One of the stones was appropriated in the 18th century is now used as an oversized field gatepost nearby.[2]
It is uncertain whether there were originally nine stones, one theory being that nine is a corruption of 'noon', said to be the time when, according to local folklore, fairies would gather at the site to dance.[1]
Excavations in 1847, 1877 and 1939 found flints and pot-sherds which date the monument to the Bronze Age.[2]
References
- Hamilton, Dave (2019). Wild Ruins BC. Bath: Wild Things Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 978-1910636169.
- Historic England (1 December 1993). "Nine Stone Close small stone circle (1008007)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 September 2019.