| Close to the A1 near Boroughbridge are
what are called the Devil’s Arrows. Since the new motorway was built
they are no longer visible from the road itself. They are three
gritstone monoliths, or standing stones, and stand about 20 feet high.
Camden tells us that there were four until one was looted during the
reign of Edward I. They are thought to be as old as Stonehenge. In the
past a fair was held in a nearby field, perhaps part of a tradition
which dated back to pre-Christian times.
One of the Devil's Arrows |
|
At Rudston, five miles west of Bridlington, is a prehistoric monolith standing
more than 25 feet high. It is said to be more than 4000 years old. It stands
in All Saints churchyard and local legend says that the Devil threw it at the
church but fortunately missed. Winifred Holtby, who wrote, among other things,
South Riding, is buried in the churchyard.
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There are prehistoric remains through out
Yorkshire. Castle Hill, above Huddersfield, visible from the M62 at
Outlane near Ainley Top, was settled by Neolithic people and later
became an Iron Age fortress. Today a tower, erected in 1899 to celebrate
Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, stands on top of the hill. It cost £3398. It
was restored in 1960 at a cost of £9000, both amounts raised by public
subscription. A beacon was lit in 1588 to warn the area of the arrival
of the Spanish Armada. Another was prepared when England expected to be
invaded by Napoleon’s forces. Beacons are only lit today for rather more
pleasant reasons like the dawn of the year 2000 or the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee.
Castle Hill |
