Great Stone of Fourstones

The Great Stone of Fourstones, or the Big Stone as it is known locally, is a glacial deposit on the moorlands of Tatham Fells, England, straddling the county border between North Yorkshire and Lancashire, near Bentham in the District of Craven. The name suggests that there were once four stones, but now there is only one. The other three were possibly broken up for scythe sharpening stones, or building stone, centuries ago. Large stones such as this were useful as boundary markers in the open countryside, and this one was used as a boundary marker for the Lancashire–Yorkshire boundary between Tatham and Bentham parishes. A local myth tells how the stone was dropped by the devil, on his way to build Devil's Bridge at nearby Kirkby Lonsdale. The stone has 14 steps carved into the side of it to allow access to the top. It is not known when they were carved, but they are well worn from years of use. In John Cary's New and Correct English Atlas published in 1793 The Great Stone of Four Stones is shown on the map In 1822 Joseph Ashton of Manchester wrote The Lancashire Gazette The Second Edition, describing the Great Stone as "a boundary stone between the counties of York and Lancaster. 2 miles S. of Bentham." In 1840 The Rural Life of England by William Howitt, Thomas Bewick and Samuel Williams The Great Stone is mentioned in chapter three, Nooks In The World: Life in the Dales of Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1863 Edward Baines Esq. MP in the History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster makes note of The Great Stone of Four Stones under the Tatham Parish, Part of the Lonsdale Hundred. In 1873 in The Parliamentary Papers, Volume 23 by By Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons The Great Stone is listed as being on the boundary that divides the parish of Bentham and the county of Lancashire. In 1904 in Volume 21 of The Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, again notes "the Great Stone of Four Stones" as a boundary stone, also called "The Big Stone", about 30 yards west to the road from Bentham to Slaidburn and about 12 miles North-East by East from Lancaster. This book also reports the rock having 14 steps and that on the top are two circular holes that are 2 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep.

Nearby Places View Menu

Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham

The Church of the Good Shepherd is on Tatham Fell in Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Wilfrid, Melling, St John the Baptist, Tunstall, St Peter, Leck, St James, Tatham, and Holy Trinity, Wray, to form the benefice of East Lonsdale. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

St Margaret's Church, High Bentham

St Margaret's Church is in Station Road, High Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. It is an Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ewecross, the archdeaconry of Craven, and the Diocese of Leeds. Its benefice is united with that of St John the Baptist, Low Bentham. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Church Landmark

Bentham railway station

Bentham is a railway station on the Bentham Line, which runs between Leeds and Morecambe via Skipton. The station, situated 19 miles (31 km) east of Lancaster, serves the town of High Bentham and surrounding settlements in North Yorkshire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Landmark Train

Mewith Head Hall

Mewith Head Hall is a historic building in Bentham, North Yorkshire, a town in England. The house was built in the early 18th century for Ralph Baynes, father of John Baynes Garforth. The date "1708" is inscribed above the barn door, and it may well also be the date that the house was completed. The house was altered in the 19th century, and was grade II* listed in 1958. The three-storey house is built of stone, with a stone slate roof. The central section is two bays wide, and the right and left wings are two bays wide and two storeys high. It has a central staircase plan, and a central doorway with a Doric surround, pilasters, a round-headed fanlight with a moulded surround, a frieze with metopes, triglyphs and guttae, and an open segmental pediment. The windows are cross windows with moulded surrounds, mullions and transoms, some with hood moulds. Above the entrance is a slate sundial with an iron gnomon in a moulded architrave. At the rear are four bays, the middle two bays gabled. The garden walls are in stone, the entrances with moulded surrounds. The gate piers have rusticated shafts, and moulded caps, each with a cornice and a ball finial. Inside the house, the dining room and principal bedroom have 18th century panelling and fireplaces, and there are also early fireplaces in the kitchen and in a second bedroom. There is a king post roof.