Out & About: Nine Ladies Stone Circle & Earl Grey Tower

We had an extended party today so 2 cars were needed for the short trip up to Stanton Moor.
The route took us up through Matlock to Rowsley and then via the narrow lanes up to Stanton Lees. There were quite a lot of branches on the road blown down from the high winds which we had through the night.
Out of the car and the first stretch was all uphill, a nice steady climb to the first ruined building (a relic from the old quarrying days.)

Just a bit further on and we came to one of the quarry faces where a lot of dates had been etched into the rock face.
This was the site of one of Europe's longest running protest camps lasting almost 10 years. At its peak there were about 80 people living there and it even had its own postcode for the 30 tree houses and mobile homes.
The protesters left voluntarily after the company stopped there plans to mine millions of tons of stone and feldspar from the two quarries.

Close up showing dates and initials on the quarry face.

The track levelled out for a short distance and we passed these unfinished millstones just lying around.

Sally with her dad

The track was a bit muddy and soft.

After a short while the track started to climb again and the wind was really blowing a gale. Part of the path had these stone tracks set into the ground. We couldn't decide if these were a water/drainage channel or a wheeled transport system for horse drawn tubs.

Stone Tracks or water course?

Part of the path passed by these fantastic trees with masses of Autumn leaves still on the ground.
The wind was blowing the leaves around making a fantastic spectacle.

As we came around the hillside and at the top onto Stanton Moor Edge we passed by one of several rock formations with initials and emblems cut into there faces. These series of stones were originally known as CAT stones, this inferring there had been a battle here. The first one was The Duke of York Stone inscribed with a Y and dated 1826.

Close up of the Duke of York Stone

A little unsure of these next 2 stones, one has a G with a crown.

Geoff getting a bit to daring, especially in the high wind.

From here it was a short walk to the Earl Grey Tower. This was a shooting tower erected by William Pole Thornhill of Stanton Hall to honour Charles 2nd Earl Grey who as Whig Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834 introduced the Reform Bill in 1832.

The Earl Grey Tower on Stanton Moor Edge.

The next stone we encountered was the largest of the 4 Cat Stones and was therefor given the name Cat Stone (inscribed E.I.N. 1831).

Geoff's on the edge again!!

The Cat Stone (Cath meaning battle)

Me snapped by Sally.

A brisk walk along the edge brought us to the Gorse (Gorsedd-dau) Stone where the druids once spoke to the local people.

Our group at the Gorse Stone.

From the Gorse Stone we back tracked towards the Earl Grey Tower and spotted Minninglow in the distance

Minninglow on the horizon.

Couldn't resist snapping this lone tree on Stanton Moor.

We went through the style at the Earl Grey Tower and took the path up to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle.

Path up to Nine Ladies

Nine Ladies Stone Circle is an early Bronze Age monument located on Stanton Moor. The circle which contains 10 stones one is flat and 9 standing stones plus a king stone which is 40 metres away. The circle was first recorded by Major Hayman Rooke in 1782. The King Stone has the name ‘Bill Stumps’ carved into it which is mentioned in The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.

Legend states that nine women were dancing on the Sabbath to a fiddler – the King Stone – and were turned into stone. From at least the 1500's dancing on Sundays during church services was punishable by excommunication. During the medieval period the church tried to guide people away from paganism by linking stone circles to devil worship.

From the Nine Ladies it was all downhill but the wind was still blowing a gale.