Stephen's Stone
Verwood, Dorset, UK Exact Google Maps grid reference for Stephen's Stone is 50.889795,-1.868102 |
Venture into the forest, north of Verwood in the county of Dorset, and you will discover an impressive prehistoric relic.
'Stephen's Stone', as it is currently known, is an ancient block of sandstone placed in a seemingly random location deep in the woods. It is thought to weigh around 3 tonnes. It is not a native sandstone and no other such stones have been found in the area. What is the original significance of this bizarrely placed object? A marker for a sacred religious centre perhaps? Or a territorial claim?
This type of object is known as a 'monolith' - a single massive stone or rock placed as a monument. Although it is now laying flat, it is thought to have originally stood upright so its height above the ground may have exceeded 10 feet. This being so, it would be one of the largest stones of this type ever to have stood in Dorset. The area is once meant to have been open heathland, with the view maybe extending as far as Hengistbury Head on the coast.
Lost for many years in the overgrown wilderness, only scattered references to the existence of such a stone were available. In 1841, an author recounted a 561 year old testimony speaking of a large stone on the heathland of Verwood. In 1993, a prominent sacred site investigator named Peter Knight lead a project to rediscover the stone. The site was then cleared in 1994 to allow public access.
Records suggest that many years ago, the local inhabitants regarded the stone with a sort of superstitious reverence and told long tales about the impossibility of removing it. There was meant to be a golden casket buried underneath the stone, and of a belief that "if anyone attempted to remove it, a black bird of dire omen perched upon its top to scare the miscreants." Perhaps the 'golden casket' was in fact a metaphoric reference to powerful supernatural energies that may be accessible at this location. For whatever reason, warnings may have evolved to inform people not to misuse the site.
Upright stones, which have stood from time immemorial, have always excited curiosity and superstition. Folklore has sometimes regarded them as once living beings turned to stone. Other records suggest such objects as being thrown by giants or by the devil. Legend has it that 'Stephen' was an ancient tribal chief of great strength. He was supposed to have hurled the stone half a mile to where it now lays.
Experiments with dowsing (a type of divination employed in order to detect earth energies) has suggested that this site is indeed teeming with activity. Studies of the ley lines (natural energies that align places of geographical and historical interest) associated with this site suggest that it is of significance and that it relates to many other sacred locations in the surrounding area. Some have suggested that the shape of the stone may also be of some relevance. It is shaped like a broad diamond, perhaps symbolic of the female anatomy.
There have also been reports of unnatural cold spots in the area. One visitor reported thus...
"I live in Verwood and have visited the site many times... Once we went up at night and it was suddenly very cold around the rock, even though it was a warm July evening. I don't remember much about leaving the place but felt incredibly nauseous upon getting home. I haven't been back since. Think there is some mythology surrounding the rock - not sure, but whatever happened that night was pretty scary."
A photograph taken during an investigation is reported to have shown "a mysterious white cloud" floating around the stone. Similar photographs have been taken at other sacred sites around the world.
Now surrounded by plantations of pine, the site of Stephen's Stone is a charming sanctuary. Not fearsome or foreboding in any way. You can go there for quiet contemplation and enjoyment of the forest. And who knows? If you are open to the energies, and your intentions are pure, perhaps the site will reveal hidden charms to you.
'Stephen's Stone', as it is currently known, is an ancient block of sandstone placed in a seemingly random location deep in the woods. It is thought to weigh around 3 tonnes. It is not a native sandstone and no other such stones have been found in the area. What is the original significance of this bizarrely placed object? A marker for a sacred religious centre perhaps? Or a territorial claim?
This type of object is known as a 'monolith' - a single massive stone or rock placed as a monument. Although it is now laying flat, it is thought to have originally stood upright so its height above the ground may have exceeded 10 feet. This being so, it would be one of the largest stones of this type ever to have stood in Dorset. The area is once meant to have been open heathland, with the view maybe extending as far as Hengistbury Head on the coast.
Lost for many years in the overgrown wilderness, only scattered references to the existence of such a stone were available. In 1841, an author recounted a 561 year old testimony speaking of a large stone on the heathland of Verwood. In 1993, a prominent sacred site investigator named Peter Knight lead a project to rediscover the stone. The site was then cleared in 1994 to allow public access.
Records suggest that many years ago, the local inhabitants regarded the stone with a sort of superstitious reverence and told long tales about the impossibility of removing it. There was meant to be a golden casket buried underneath the stone, and of a belief that "if anyone attempted to remove it, a black bird of dire omen perched upon its top to scare the miscreants." Perhaps the 'golden casket' was in fact a metaphoric reference to powerful supernatural energies that may be accessible at this location. For whatever reason, warnings may have evolved to inform people not to misuse the site.
Upright stones, which have stood from time immemorial, have always excited curiosity and superstition. Folklore has sometimes regarded them as once living beings turned to stone. Other records suggest such objects as being thrown by giants or by the devil. Legend has it that 'Stephen' was an ancient tribal chief of great strength. He was supposed to have hurled the stone half a mile to where it now lays.
Experiments with dowsing (a type of divination employed in order to detect earth energies) has suggested that this site is indeed teeming with activity. Studies of the ley lines (natural energies that align places of geographical and historical interest) associated with this site suggest that it is of significance and that it relates to many other sacred locations in the surrounding area. Some have suggested that the shape of the stone may also be of some relevance. It is shaped like a broad diamond, perhaps symbolic of the female anatomy.
There have also been reports of unnatural cold spots in the area. One visitor reported thus...
"I live in Verwood and have visited the site many times... Once we went up at night and it was suddenly very cold around the rock, even though it was a warm July evening. I don't remember much about leaving the place but felt incredibly nauseous upon getting home. I haven't been back since. Think there is some mythology surrounding the rock - not sure, but whatever happened that night was pretty scary."
A photograph taken during an investigation is reported to have shown "a mysterious white cloud" floating around the stone. Similar photographs have been taken at other sacred sites around the world.
Now surrounded by plantations of pine, the site of Stephen's Stone is a charming sanctuary. Not fearsome or foreboding in any way. You can go there for quiet contemplation and enjoyment of the forest. And who knows? If you are open to the energies, and your intentions are pure, perhaps the site will reveal hidden charms to you.
Article compiled by Daniel Saunders
Photographs by Daniel Saunders
References:
"Ancient Stones of Dorset" by Peter Knight
"Ghost and Legends of the Dorset Countryside" by Edward Waring
"Verwood: Village to Town" by Jill Coulthard
"A Brief History of Verwood" by Pam Reeks and Jill Coulthard
dorsetforyou.com
verwood.gov.uk
verwood.org
paranormaldatabase.com
bbc.co.uk
megalithic.co.uk
geograph.org.uk
Photographs by Daniel Saunders
References:
"Ancient Stones of Dorset" by Peter Knight
"Ghost and Legends of the Dorset Countryside" by Edward Waring
"Verwood: Village to Town" by Jill Coulthard
"A Brief History of Verwood" by Pam Reeks and Jill Coulthard
dorsetforyou.com
verwood.gov.uk
verwood.org
paranormaldatabase.com
bbc.co.uk
megalithic.co.uk
geograph.org.uk