More information : On the plateau summit of Summerhouse Hill [SD 501744] are six large limestone monoliths; 4 are deposed to suggest the remains of a megalithic circle, two outlie the circle, and hollows on the west arc may indicate removed stones. The massive plinth of the mid 18th cent summerhouse is composed of similar stone, some blocks showing evidence of drilling and blasting. To the NW is the remains of a shallow ditch. (1)
As described by authority 1, but evidence of archaeological interest is inconclusive, all the stones being natural boulders of greatly differing size and shape. Four certainly form a near perfect circle, 68 m. in diameter, with two outliers almost equidistant from its centre, just conceivably the remains of a concentric circle; but the hollows noted are all in one cluster, very slight, and of no consequence.
There are traces of Rig and Furrow and the NW ditch is associated with this.
Six stones surveyed at 1/2500. (2)
SD 501744. The remains of the stone circle on Summerhouse Hill was interpreted as debris from a collapsed tor by Burl, the smaller stones having been removed to build the (18th century) summerhouse leaving only a few of the larger boulders, giving the impression of an apparently toppled circle. (3)
SD 5005 7436
SD 5011 7428
SD 4995 7435. Stone circle on Summerhouse Hill. Scheduled RSM No 23729/01, /02 and /03. (4)
The English Heritage scheduling amendment (ref. 4) does not address the possibility that the monument may be a largely natural landscape feature, as suggested by Burl and the Ordnance Survey (refs. 2 and 3). The monument is not mentioned at all by Barnatt in his survey of British stone circles, suggesting that notwithstanding its scheduled status, the identification of the site as a stone circle remains in doubt. (5)
The remains of the alleged (and highly dubious) stone circle on Summerhouse Hill were briefly perambulated in April 2014 during ground investigation in Stage 2 of English Heritage's NAIS Upland Pilot Project (covering parts of the Southern Lakes, Western Dales & Arnside).
The site is located at 125m OD on Summerhouse hill, and is centred approximately 615m east of Leighton Hall. On inspection the remains comprise six extremely large sub-cuboid limestone boulders, widely spaced across the fairly level top of Summerhouse hill; authority 1 describes four of the stones as being the remnants of a stone circle 460 feet (140m) in diameter, with a further two as outliers towards the west and south-east. The north-easternmost stone has cracked into four large fragments.
The site is unconvincing as the remains of a constructed ceremonial monument. Although the location is good, with clear views west towards Morecombe Bay, the two western stones are positioned noticeably downslope, so any alleged circle here was not marking out the true hill top. The hefty stones - each roughly spherical with diameters in the region of 1.5m - are all only partially embedded into the ground, there is no indication that they were ever set in proper stone holes. The fact that the ‘surviving’ stones are not embedded at all calls into question the suggestion of ‘scooped stone holes’ apparently seen by authority 1 around the western side of the circuit (although distinctly deviating from their proposed line of the circle); no such hollows were noted during this visit. It is much more likely that stones are the surviving elements of a collapsed tor, as suggested by authority 3; perhaps surviving as the remnants of mass stone clearance on the hill where those largest in size were just pushed to the edge of the area whilst smaller pieces were used in the construction of the basal plinth associated with the nearby remains of a demolished summerhouse (uid 1574215). Alternatively, the stones may be glacial erratics but their elevated location makes this less probable.
The grassy hill top has been visibly improved with traces of north-south plough ridges in evidence. Additionally, the local Ordnance Survey (OS) map published in 1938 shows that there was formerly a cricket pitch on the hill, covering a large portion of the site (6a); earlier mapping suggests that the pitch was established by 1913 (6b).
No survey action. (6)
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