Porth Hellick Down Entrance Grave, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, early 20^th century

This postcard shows a view of one of the better preserved examples of the class of monuments known as Scillonian entrance graves. This type of construction was largely confined to the Isles of Scilly and the extreme west of the Cornish mainland and features a short entrance passage which leads straight into the burial chamber. Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Porth Hellick Down Entrance Grave, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, c.1930

This postcard by Gibson shows another view of the entrance grave at Porth Hellick Down. H O'Neill Hencken used this same photograph as the frontispiece to his Archaeology of Cornwall and Scilly, and describes the barrow as "The largest passage grave [on the Isles of Scilly], which is also among the best preserved tombs in the islands, is one of a group standing near the edge of a high cliff on Porth Hellick Down on St. Mary's and is fairly complete except for the roofing stones of the passage. It shows especially clearly the revetment or retaining wall of dry masonry around the barrow which is common to all these graves. It also has an unusual feature which appears again in the Spanish peninsula, a large slab separating the chamber from the passage. This grave was excavated by Mr. Bonsor, but its contents had already been disturbed by treasure seekers. No human remains were found, but several fragments of pots were recovered as well as a piece of pumice stone."

Photograph of Chûn Cromlech, Morvah, photographer unknown, c.1860s

Arguably the most perfectly preserved of the Cornish quoits, Chûn has a simple elegance. The prostrate stone at the left foreground of the photograph was noted by Charles Henderson in Penwith, Kirrier and Carnmarth as being the possible remnant of a second cist, along with a second smaller stone lying a few feet away. The orientation of this stone argues against its being part of any retaining circle, although the second stone noted by Henderson cannot be seen in either of the two photographs shown here, and could not be located when the monument was surveyed by the Ordnance Survey in 1961. Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Photograph of Chûn Cromlech, Morvah, photographer unknown, c.1860s

Another view of the quoit by the same photographer. William Cotton, writing in 1827, describes that the monument "stands on the S.W. side of a wild and barren hill, covered with moor stones, in the parish of Morvah, and about 500 yards from Chûn Castle, which occupies the summit of the hill. The incumbent stone is 36 feet in circumference, and measures 12 feet 5 inches, by 12 feet 4 inches, in diameter. It is 2 feet 6 inches in thickness, and very gibbous: its weight may be about 20 tons. This stone is supported on four others, forming an enclosed Kistvaen, the two side stones being 8 feet in length, and the end stones 4 feet. A low barrow, or heap of stones, surrounds this Cromlêh; and it has probably never been dug under, or disturbed from its original position." J Harris Stone commented that "there is no doubt a ring of stones formerly surrounded it, of which a few remain at its base on the north side." Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Photograph of West Lanyon Cromlech, Madron, photographer unknown, c.1860s

The fallen cromlech known as Lower or West Lanyon Quoit was discovered about the year 1800 by the owner of the Lanyon Estate in Madron. William Cotton quotes the following from p228 of Archæologia, Volume xiv: "The gentleman who owns the estate of Lanyon happening to be overtaken by a shower of rain, in walking through his fields, took shelter behind a bank of earth and stones; and remarking that the earth was rich, he thought it might be useful for a compost: accordingly he sent his servants soon after to carry it off; when, having removed near one hundred cart-loads, they observed the supporters of a Cromlêh, from which the covering stone was slipped off on the south side, but still leaning against them. These supporters include a rectangular space, open only at the north end, their dimensions being of a very extraordinary size; viz. that forming the eastern side being 10 feet 6 inches long; that on the west 9 feet, with a small one added, to complete the length of the other side; and the stone shutting up the south end being about 5 feet wide. The cover-stone is about 13 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 6 inches; but its length, and the height of the supporters cannot be exactly ascertained, as they are inserted in the ground; the present height being about 5 feet." Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Illustration of Lanyon Quoit, Madron, by F T Vibert, mid 19^th century

This illustration is taken from the title page to the 1853 Report of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society. The quoit fell in 1815 and George John, at one time the Mayor of Penzance, wrote of the collapse in his diary: "Thursday 19^th October 1815 - This night the celebrated Cromlech of Lanyon called Lanyon Quoit was said to be blown down, more probably the violent rain has undermined or loosened the earth on which stood one of the supporters so as to occasion its fall after standing two thousand years at least probably much longer." The theory that the quoit was toppled by one of Cornwall's notoriously violent storms after standing for so many thousands of years has been questioned by some, but one only has to study the south western aspect of Stonehenge, which faces into the prevailing winds, to see the damage which can accumulate through thousands of years of adverse weather conditions.

Photograph of Lanyon Quoit, Madron, unknown photographer, c.1860s

The 13½ ton capstone of Lanyon Quoit is one of the heaviest in Cornwall and measures 17½ feet by 9 feet. The cromlech was re-erected in 1824, thanks to funding raised by public subscription, by Captain Giddy of the Royal Navy using the same machine which had previously replaced the famous logan stone at Treryn Dinas. Page 23 of the 1813-1870 baptism register for St Levan (CRO, P122/1/2) notes that "On Thursday April 8 1824 Lieut Goldsmith, commanding the Nimble Revenue Cutter, with fourteen of his crew with handpikes &c threw the Loggan Rock about 3 feet from its base      W^m Spry", and the following page reads "On Tuesday November 2 1824 Lieutenant Goldsmith, and crew replaced the Logan Rock.      W^m Spry". The capstone of Lanyon previously stood on four uprights but due to damage caused by the collapse of 1815, it now stands on only three uprights and is some few feet shorter than it once was. Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Photographic reproduction from a lantern slide of Lanyon Quoit, Madron, unknown photographer, c.1890s

A late Victorian lantern slide of the cromlech. The engine house of Ding Dong mine can be seen to the right hand side of the view and is an ever present feature throughout most of the northern part of the Penwith peninsula. Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

     

     

     

     

Postcards of Lanyon Quoit, Madron, early 20^th century

The monument, and the land surrounding it, was given to the National Trust in 1952 by Edward Bolitho of Trengwainton, and stands alongside the main road between Penzance and the north Penwith coast, making it one of the most accessible and frequently visited of Penwith's prehistoric monuments.

Photographic postcard of Lanyon Quoit, Madron, c.1920s

A H Hawke of Helston was a prominent local photographer and postcard producer of the first half of the 20^th century and he photographed many of the churches and coastal features of the western half of Cornwall. His images of prehistoric monuments are less abundant, and though he photographed Lanyon Quoit, the Mên Scryfa, Zennor Cromlech and the Pipers, it is to be regretted that photographs of the monuments closer to his studio, such as the Dry Tree menhir at Goonhilly, or the superb longstone at Tremenheere, do not seem to have been taken.

Photograph of Mulfra Cromlech, photographer unknown, c.1860s

This photograph of the quoit on Mulfra Hill clearly shows the acute angle at which the capstone lies. According to H R Jennings it was displaced during a thunderstorm in 1752, although William Borlase is known to have seen the cromlech in this position on the 23^rd of October 1749, and Jennings' source, presumably the Philosophical Transactions of 1752, actually referred to a natural stone, also known as quoits, on Mulfra Hill which was struck by lightning in that year. Borlase excavated within the chamber and discovered a 20 inch pit at the centre, but found only "that something which either was originally, or has since turned black, was placed at the bottom of it." The capstone now has a HP monogram carved almost dead centre, and which is not present in this view. Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Photographic reproduction from a lantern slide of Mulfra Cromlech, Madron, c.1890s

William Copeland Borlase noted in 1872 that, in the time of William Borlase, "a stone-barrow, now entirely removed, measuring two feet high, and thirty-seven in diameter, surrounded the monument. There is little doubt that the removal of the southern supporter caused the overthrow of Mulfra Quoit. It might indeed be possible that the cap-stone was never actually raised to the position for which it was intended: but the fact of a fracture having taken place in it, as well as the angle at which it now stands, which is precisely that it would have assumed had it been overbalanced and slipped from its place, presents no analogy to the case of Lower Lanyon, and confirms the supposition that it is simply a fallen Cromlech." Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Photographic reproduction from a lantern slide of Mulfra Cromlech, Madron, c.1890s

Another late Victorian view of Mulfra Quoit showing a gentleman with bowler hat and walking stick resting against the capstone and presumably taking in the fine view towards Mount's Bay and St Michael's Mount. Glyn Daniel described the monument as "A rectangular chamber at present consisting of only three orthostats forming the northern, southern and eastern sides of the chamber with the capstone displaced and resting partly on the heads of the northern and southern orthostats. There are traces of a round barrow about 40 ft. in diameter." Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Illustration of Zennor Cromlech, Zennor, 1842

This illustration, which is taken from Cyrus Redding's An Illustrated Itinerary of the County of Cornwall, is, in all likelihood, directly copied from William Borlase's sketch of Zennor Quoit, which appeared in his Observations on the Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall of 1754. The sketch shows the chambered tomb with the capstone still in its original position. The quoit is unusual in that, like that at Trethevy, it contains an antechamber alongside the larger burial chamber.

Engraving of Zennor Quoit, Zennor, by W Willis, 1849

A rare and surprisingly accurate engraving showing the large chambered tomb after the capstone had slipped, but before a farmer was reported to have removed a part of one of the uprights to make part of a cattle shed in 1861. J H Matthews quotes the Cornish Telegraph of September 4th of that year: "Zennor Quoit, one of our local antiquities, has recently had a narrow escape. It consists of seven stones, one of which is a large granite slab which lies in a slanting position against the tallest of the uprights. A farmer had removed a part of one of the upright pillars, and drilled a hole into the slanting quoit in order to erect a cattle-shed, when news of the vandalism reached the ears of the Rev. W. Borlase, vicar of Zennor, and for five shillings the work of destruction was stayed, the vicar having thus strengthened the legend that the quoit cannot be removed." This view of 1849 shows the tomb very much as it appears today, and thankfully the amount of damage done to the cromlech was minimal. This view does, however, disprove the notion that the said farmer’s actions had caused the collapse of the 9.3 ton capstone. According to James Dyer an unsuccessful attempt to open the tomb with gunpowder was made sometime in the 19th century and this may have caused the collapse of the capstone. © Chris Bond - Private Collection.

Photograph of Zennor Quoit, photographer unknown, c.1860s

A mid-Victorian photographic view of Zennor Quoit illustrating the relative size of the left hand upright at the front of the cromlech on the right hand side of this image. William Copeland Borlase, writing in Nænia Cornubiæ of the appearance of the monument in the time of William Borlase, ponders that "In all probability it had been freshly disinterred from its cairn, or rather the gigantic structure had just succeeded in shaking off, or piercing up through, the crust of loose dèbris which had been piled over it; for in the last century, "a stone barrow, fourteen yards in diameter, was heaped round it, and almost reached to the edge of the quoit." Care had been taken, however, in the erection, that no stone should get into the chamber, and it was with great difficulty that a man could squeeze himself into it." A thought, no doubt, which might also have crossed the mind of the gentleman shown in this photograph. Image courtesy of and © Cornwall Record Office.

Illustration of Carwynnen Cromlech, Camborne, 1842

The monument collapsed in 1842, but was sketched by William Borlase in the mid-18^th century, and the view shown here was included in Cyrus Redding's An Illustrated Itinerary of the County of Cornwall, published in the same year as the fall. Some of the illustrations in Redding's book, such as those of Lanyon and Zennor Quoits, were likely to have been directly copied from those of Borlase, and this fact needs to be taken into consideration when viewing these in the light of the time of their publication. His sketch of "Caerwynen", however, differs markedly from that contained in Borlase's manuscripts, and reproduced in William Copeland Borlase's Nænia Cornubiæ, and both may well be representative of its appearance prior to the collapse.

Photographic reproduction from a lantern slide of Carwynnen Cromlech, Camborne, c.1890s

A view from a lantern slide of the cromlech known variously as Carwynnen, Pendarves or Giant's Quoit. The cromlech was re-erected soon after the fall of 1842, and was, according to William Copeland Borlase, "as a labourer asserted who assisted in the work, soon after replaced by the patriotic lady of the manor [Pendarves], in much the same position as before." He also goes on to say that "The two supporters at the south-eastern end seem to have retained their original positions. They were, formerly, respectively 5 feet 1 inch, and 5 feet 2 inches above ground. The single pillar at the other side has been moved nearer the edge of the covering stone...it measured 4 feet 11 inches high, but is now shorter. The covering slab, which, like the other stones, is granite, measures twelve feet by nine; one side, however, seems to have been broken in its fall. Some stones now standing on the north side, were placed there subsequently to the restoration." Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Photograph of Carwynnen Cromlech, Camborne, c.1900

Another photographic view of the quoit as it stood at the turn of the last century. The tomb once again collapsed in 1967, possibly due, according to some locals, to a memorable earthquake of that year, and now lies in a jumbled heap. Plans to reconstruct the monument are frequently considered, but the cost of reconstruction, and that of the necessary accompanying excavation, always prove to be a major stumbling block, though it is welcome news that the monument is now top of the list of restoration priorities for the Historic Environment Service. Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

     

Photograph and postcard of Carwynnen Cromlech, Camborne, c.1900 and 1904

Two versions of the same photograph of Carwynnen Cromlech; the first shows the original photograph by William John Bennetts of Camborne and Hayle, and his bicycle can be seen leaning against the cromlech, and a postcard produced by Woolstone Brothers of London and using Bennetts' photograph with false colouring. Photograph courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Photograph of the Camborne Old Cornwall Society at Carwynnen Cromlech, Camborne, 1925

This photograph shows the summer pilgrimage of the Camborne branch of the Old Cornwall Society at the Giant's Quoit in 1925. The branch was founded in 1923 and this photograph shows a number of recognisable faces, including the Reverend James Sims Carah, vicar of Penponds and one time president of the COCS, shown wearing a boater and with a paper in his hands. Also shown are two other well known Camborne writers and antiquaries: James Thomas, rural postman and bard and a great collector of local folklore and antiquities, shown wearing a trilby and leaning back in the middle distance, and William Blewett, a painter and decorator who lived at Cross Street, Camborne and is shown standing to the left. Image courtesy of and © David Thomas.

Watercolour, ‘Sepulchral Urn found at Lanlawren’ by Thomas Quiller Couch, 1844

William Copeland Borlase, as an illustration for his 1872 book Nænia Cornubiæ, later sketched Quiller Couch’s painting of the urn, which had been discovered in a barrow at Lanlawren in Lanteglos-by-Fowey. The artist has added in pencil “with fragments of burnt bones & cinders”, and Borlase has written instructions in the lower right hand corner reading “XXXVIII Reduce to size of Tresvennack”, referring to an illustration of the well known urn discovered and disinterred by a farmer a couple of feet to the east of the 11½ feet tall menhir known as the Tresvennack Pillar. The Lanlawren illustration was actually the 39^th in the book so Borlase must have added a further illustration prior to the book’s publication. © Chris Bond - Private Collection.

Plan and elevation of Pawton Quoit, 1840

This illustration is taken from the 22^nd Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall which features the earliest detailed description of the monument by Nicholas Whitley: "The Cromlech near Pawten is marked on Martyn's map of Cornwall, as 'an altar of the Druids' it is called by the people in its neighbourhood 'the Giant's quoit'. It stands on a barrow and has a very perfect stone chest, or grave underneath, about eight feet long. The covering stone is quartz and about two feet in thickness, the length from a. to b. about twelve feet, its bearing points are very small at the parts e. c. d. The barrow is evidently an artificial mound, and notwithstanding the great weight of the stone it must have been carefully placed in its present situation." At 14¼ tons the 15 feet long by 2½ feet thick capstone is the heaviest in Cornwall.

Postcard of Trethevy Quoit, 1908

An attractive real photographic postcard by Snell & Symons of Liskeard, with photography by J H Coath. Trethevy Quoit stands on the south eastern slopes of Bodmin Moor close to the town of Liskeard, and was first described by John Norden in 1610 as "Tretheuie, called in Latin Casa Gigantis, a litle howse raysed of mightie stones, standing on a little hill within a fielde". The quoit stands to a height of about 13 feet. Redding describes his first encounter with "the largest Cromlech now in existence in this Country. The view of it surprises, from the magnitude of the upper stone or slab, and its adjustment upon the imposts; rendered still more wonderful from the supposition that the mechanical powers were unknown at the time it was erected. Older than the inscribed solitary stones of which we have before spoken, and belonging to an order of sepulchral monuments much more complicated in the construction, we become more anxious to acquire the knowledge respecting it which we are at the same time conscious we can never attain."

     

     

     

Postcards of Trethevy Quoit, early 20th century

A selection of early 20^th century postcards showing Trethevy Quoit looking much as it does today, and with some showing the fallen backstone. The backstone is likely to have collapsed sometime prior to 1850, when it was described by S R Pattison in that year's Report of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, and Cyrus Redding's 1842 description of the quoit makes no mention of the fallen stone. Both Redding and Stockdale, who described the quoit in 1824, assert that the 11 ton capstone was in contact with five of the uprights whereas it now rests on only three, as it did when William Copeland Borlase described it in 1872. It is unfortunate that none of the three views of the monument featured in Redding's book show the rear of the chamber. The card centre right contains the message, penned by Eric: "This Chromlech is within sight of our house. It was built for the King of Cornwall in the year 827.A.D."

Postcard of Trethevy Quoit, c.1920

Real photographic postcard by Chapman & Son of Dawlish in Devon. Axford states that "Six blocks of moorstone enclose an area measuring 7ft X 5ft X 8ft 8in high. The capstone which covers the chamber has a hole in one corner. Whether the hole was chipped out by the megalith builders, or whether it was caused by natural erosion, its presence would obviously have facilitated the manoeuvering of this enormously heavy block of granite into position. At the south-eastern end of the monument is a recess or antechamber constructed by overlapping the end stone with the two most easterly of the side slabs. The granite block that has been overlapped and that closes the chamber on this side, has had one corner cut out of it, leaving an aperture through which it is possible to crawl."

© Chris Bond 2004-6