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M O N U M E N T S

ELEANOR CROSS (Geddington) -

This is one of the Eleanor Crosses which is the best preserved in England. This was erected in memory of Eleanor of Castile (wife of King Edward I of England). She died of a fever while she was accompanying her husband on a war against the Scots in 1290.

Her early death robbed him of his happiness. He brought her body to Westminster, erecting at each nights resting place a monument. Her tomb is alongside her husband's in Westminster Abbey.

The lock-up at the base of the cross, where the village drunks and delinquents were kept overnight to teach them a lesson. David's friends Roy and Tony are deciding who they ought to put in it.

The twelve crosses were erected at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, Waltham, Cheapside and Charing. Only three (Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham) survive, though there is a replica at Charing Cross, now a London railway station.

The main stone circle, about 35 yards in diameter, consists of 77 stones. It has been dated to approximately 2,500 BC. The circle stands on an ancient track way along the top of a ridge (this picture shows the view to the South). It is an ancient religious site. There are many, unprovable, theories about its exact function. It is certain though that there is an aura about the place that gives one gooseflesh, even in broad daylight. Legends of witches in local villages might just be opportunism - how many bored villagers would pass up the opportunity to make use of a place like this on their doorstep?

Many of the stones in the circle are extremely weathered. A large number of them had fallen down and become buried, but were replaced in (allegedly) their original positions in the       1880s.
      

The King Stone is seriously weathered, but this is not the only reason for its peculiar shape. Legend has it that this stone was credited with the power to repel the devil. Bits were therefore chipped off it for people to use as charms. The superstition, and therefore the vandalism, died out about 100 years ago

 

The Rollright Stones are a collection of prehistoric dolmen set in the depths of the countryside on the border between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. They comprise three clusters; the king stone (illustrated here) is a single stone lying about 50 yards north of the main stone circle. It is thought to have been erected in the Bronze Age, about 5,000 years ago.
 
This rather small monument marks what might have been one of the most important battles in English history. At Stamford Bridge in 1066, the new King, Harold Godwinson, defeated an invasion by the toughest warlord of the age, Harald Hardraada, who was aided by Harold's younger brother Tostig. The victory would have marked the start of a golden age for Saxon Britain, were it not for William the Conqueror invading from Normandy almost immediately afterwards. Harold marched his army the 200 miles South to meet William at Hastings. But after Stamford Bridge and the long march they were knackered, so William won (only just). This monument at Stamford Bridge is now almost forgotten, overshadowed by its more famous successor.
 
Most British towns and villages have a war memorial, commemorating the people from the town or village who died in the two World Wars to save Britain from being subjugated to a foreign tyranny. The memorial in York is a particularly fine example.                           

It is sad to reflect that, after all the trouble and sacrifice of two gruelling world wars, Britain today is groaning under the oppressive yoke of petty bureaucracy and mindless over-regulation from its own government.