The rocks are associated with a wealth of folklore, and were perhaps a place of ancient worship. They were once thought to have been carved by the druids, although their strange weathering is entirely natural. One stone is called the wishing stone, it has a hole into which you would place the fingers of your right hand and then make a wish.
Ancient Sites / Devil / Legends / Standing Stones
by Ian · Published September 13, 2008 · Last modified November 27, 2018
The Devil’s Arrows are three Neolithic Megaliths – the tallest of which is 23 feet high – standing in a crooked alignment of around 580 feet. The fourth stone was destroyed in the 16th century, when Camden noted that it had been pulled down by treasure seekers.
In legend they were thrown by the Devil from Howe Hill to destroy Aldborough, hence their common name.
The Bridestones are a set of natural weathered stones that are thought to have been used for ancient worship. A weathered horned head is carved into one of the stones, the date of the carving unknown.
Directions: To the East of the A169 Northeast of Lockton.
Haunted by the ghost of a lady in a black dress. Peat cutters are reputed to have discovered a body dressed in the rotting remains of a black shawl. She was meant to have been murdered by one of her admirers after he discovered she was to run away with another man.
William of Newburgh’s Chronicle of 1290AD is said to mention the sighting of a round silvery object flying over the Byland Abbey in Yorkshire.
Upsall is associated with a common tale: A man from the village dreamed for three consecutive nights that he should go to London and stand on London Bridge. Conceding to impulse he went to London and while on the bridge he was approached by a Quaker, to whom he told his dream.
Traditionally haunted by the spirit of Nance, who is said to guide travellers when there are dense mists. The story goes that she was due to marry a mail-coach driver but fell for the charms of a highwayman. He turned out to be a bad choice, as he left her and their baby to die of exposure on the lonely road.
The abbey was founded in 1132 by the Benedictines, but was destroyed 30 years later, and then reconstructed. The abbey became one of the wealthiest in Britain due to the booming medieval wool trade. Its wealth was also to be its downfall, and it was one of the first abbeys to be crushed under the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540.
Mother Shipton is the most famous prophetess of the British Isles. She is one of the many figures of romance who achieve widespread fame and notoriety many years after the real exploits of their lives have faded from the pages of history. With such a passage of time, and lack of historical evidence, there is even debate as to whether she existed at all.
This church dates from the 13th century.
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