More information : [SE 3907 6659]
[SE 3910 6653] Devil's Arrows [T.I.]
[SE 3915 6643] Standing Stones [G.T.] (1)
The Devil's Arrows are three Bronze Age standing stones, monoliths of millstone grit, 1/4 mile west of Boroughbridge. Two are 22 1/2
feet high and 18 feet in circumference, the third 22 feet in
circumference. See AO/LP/57/64 (3)
Leland in 1538 describes four stones, the two middle ones being
six to eight feet apart. Part of the fourth stone is said
to form part of a bridge in Boroughbridge (4). (2-5)
The three remaining standing stones are correctly described and
sited. Miss M. Lawson-Tancred (a) says that at Aldborough Manor
is an original document dated 1620 from the Justices of
Knaresborough ordering the repair of Peggy Bridge (SE 3954 6664) and
in consequence of this order, the fourth arrow was cut up and
used for its foundations. In her garden is the alleged top of
this stone. This is a fragment of millstone grit, 1'8" x 1'4"
x 10", furrowed & weathered, which, in appearance, compares
favourably with the existing stones. No similar type of stone can
be seen in the superstructure of the bridge. (6)
The Devil's Arrows. Scheduled No NY/35. (7)
Devil's Arrows also known as the Devil's Bolts, the Three Greyhounds, and the Three Sisters is interpreted as an isolated, early version of a single long stone row, which may belong to the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition around 2200-2000 BC. There may have bee originally five stones. Geologically, the source of the stone could be Plumpton Rocks two miles south of Knaresborough or glacial erratics from the Northallerton area. (8) Additional reference (9).
Three standing stones are visible on historic and recent air photos. All three stones are visible on 1940s air photos albeit at a very small scale. More recent air photos show good oblique views of the two stones that stand to the north of Roecliffe Lane, these are in an arable field. The third stone, which lies to the south of the lane, is now concealed by trees. (11-12)
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