More information : (SD 71631588) Druidical Circle (NR) (1)
(name SD 71711586) Stone Circles (NR) (2)
The stone circle on Cheetham Close, Turton was first described (a) as having only 6 stones arranged in a perfect circle of about 17yds diameter with an upright stone about 37yds nearly due E from its outward verge and another stone about 17 yds due S. Dawes (b) gives the six stones of the circle as varying in height from 1ft to 4ft, width 1ft6ins to 4ft and thickness 11ins to 2ft. He suggests that the circle originally had 9 stones. Greenhalgh (c) thought that originally there were 11 stones, 7 of which were still standing in more or less perfect condition. (3)
SD 71641589. Situated on a gentle NE slope, approximately 60m below the summit of Cheetham Close. Only six stones can now be traced with any certainty and these are either fractured or recumbent. There are many scattered stones laying on the surface of the ground in and around the circle, and a heavy concentration to the NE. The position of the remainder of the stones that were presumed to have made up the circle, could not be determined. The description of each stone is as follows:
'A' Length 0.7m, 0.4m high and 0.2m thick, embedded in peat in an E-W direction.
'B' Pyramidal, 0.5m high having a base 0.6m by 0.4m and a flat-topped surface 0.3m by 0.2m. This top appears to have been broken off in recent years. The stone is set into the ground and leans to the N.
'C' Triangular, embedded in peat, with a base of 0.5m square and standing to a height of 0.3m. Behind this is a recumbent slab 0.8m by 1.1m by 0.4m. Both stones have evidence of fractures and both are of similar substance, though it cannot be verified that one was a part of the other.
'D' Partly buried with an exposed surface measuring 0.4m by 0.3m.
'F' A recumbent slab lying E-W with the S side partly buried. The exposed surface measures 0.9m by 0.5m by 0.2m.
'G' A recumbent slab lying E-W with its W side embedded in the ground. The exposed surface measures 0.7m by 0.7m by 0.2m.
'H' SD 71631586. At 17.5m SW of stone 'A' is a single upright stone, pyramidal and set into the ground. Dimensions: 0.3m square at base tapering to 0.2m square at top, height 0.6m.
A 25" survey of these stones made on AM. (4)
SD71641589. Not enough of the circle remains for precise measurement but it appears to have been oval,about 18.5m NE-SW by 12.5m NW-SE. The remaining seven stones, some collapsed, are all embedded in deep turf. Several large stones in the turf around the circle may have come from it but this is now impossible to ascertain. 'H' SD 71631586. A single upright earthfast stone, 0.6m high and 0.3m square, which could probably be an outlier to the circle. (5)
Additional reference. (6)
Scheduled SAM No. GM 20, LA 53. (7)
SD 7165 1586. Stone circle, ring cairn and two round cairns on Cheetham Close. Scheduled RSM No 23732. (8)
Cheetham Close, Chapeltown. Before 1893 a tenant farmer deliberately smashed some of the stones of this 'Druidical circle' to discourage trespassers. Fortunately a fair plan of the settings had already been made in 1871. (9)
Both Burl's and Barnatt's descriptions of the site conform to those given above. Burl additionally speculates on the role of the outlier at Cheetham Close, while Barnatt discusses outliers more generally. (10-11). |