There is an ancient stone circle which has connections with a witch if a legend which has existed for over four centuries is to be believed

THE ROLLRIGHT STONE CIRCLE & THE KINGS MEN.

There is an ancient stone circle which has connections with a witch if a legend which has existed for over four centuries is to be believed. The circle, which comprises of seventy-six stones lies midway between Oxford and Stratford-on-Avon and is known as the Rollright Stones and, but for the intervention of a witch in some ancient era, the stones would have marched on London and conquered England.

In addition to the seventy-six stone circle, on the opposite side of the road a short distance away stands alone the King Stone, about seven feet or more high. It is firmly embedded in the earth just short of a hill ridge which over looks the village of Long Compton about two miles away, plus extensive views of the rolling countryside.

"Seven long strides shall thou take,

If Long Compton thou canst see,

King of England, thou shalt be"…

These words were told to the possible future king by a witch who was the owner of the hill as he approached its crest on his march through England towards London.

As the king moved forward the earth rose up ahead of him blocking his view, and the last words he would of heard before being petrified into stone was:

"As Long Compton thou canst see,

King of England thou shalt not be.

Rise up stick, and stand still, stone,

For king of England thou shalt be none.

Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be,

And I myself an elder tree".

According to local lore, it is impossible to count the exact number of the king's men stones in the circle, and further, if one is able to correctly count them, ones days are numbered for one will die within a year. However, the reason for the difficulty in counting them, is that some barely protrude above the ground and others are joined at some point. One brave soul stuck a loaf of bread on a large stone to act as a marker and was thus able to successfully count the remainder of the stones. The story does not relate whether he survived for excess of a year.

The legend continues that periodically the stones revert to men, they all join hands and dance their way down the hill at the witching hour of midnight to drink at a nearby stream. It is also said that on one night each year the warriors and their king meet under the hill in a cave where they drink and feast and remind each other of the day they will resume their flesh and blood roles and march once more to conquer England.

About a hundred years ago the locals would hold picnics at the site on May Day and on Mid summers Eve, when fairies were supposed to dance around the King Stone. The fairies left rings of bright green grass where their feet trod, but their revels were only seen by those with the 'sight'.

According to the 'folklore Journal' of 1895, Dr A.J. Evans reported that one Will Hughes of Long Compton had seen the fairies many times, as had his mother and her playmates. It was custom for childless women to visit the king stone at midnight and hold her bare breasts to it, in the belief that she would become a mother of a bright intelligent child, loved and cared for by the fairies, whose path would be smoothed by the little people watching over it.

It was also thought that prayers offered in the middle of the circle for the sick would effect a speedy cure. 'Both of these ideas are evidently the remnants of the ceremonies of the long ago when the ancient Priests or Priestess's of the temple held sway over the surrounding countryside, and taught their worshippers that an offering in the temple was more efficacious than anything'. This according to a book published in Oxford at the turn of the century.

The diameter of the circle, thirty-five yards, is exactly that of the inner circle at Stonehenge, and the entrance too is from the north-east as at Stonehenge. The name of the nearby village listed in the Doomsday Book as Rolendrich would be Rholdrwyg if written in the old script, which means ' Druids wheel or circle'.

The Irish equivalent, 'Roilig' means 'Church of the Druids' and several characteristic barrow or burial mounds were apparently found nearby.

The legend of the kings men is ancient, and it is recorded that in the sixteenth century local people had long favoured the tradition that the stones were once men who had been petrified by a witch and 'they take it ill, if anybody doubts the story, nay, he is in danger for his disbelief by being stoned'.

Dr Evans, in the same 'Folklore Journal' also refers to the legend of the elder tree, 'the proof that the elder tree is a witch is that it bleeds when it is cut' and he records an ancient custom in the district of gathering round the King Stone on Mid summers Eve when the elder is in bloom. ' Then, as the elder was cut, and as it bled, the King moved his head'.

In Denmark he says, an elder tree has been seen to move about in the twilight, and its magical properties are referred to in the Hanns Anderson fairy tale in which the mystical power of elderflower tea enables drinkers to see in their dreams the Elder Mother herself, seated amidst her sweet-scented flowers and foliage.

The earliest associations of the tree with the Craft is a record preserved in the ancient Canons of King Elgar which speaks of the 'vain practices which are carried on with Elders, elder flowers, everywhere in the country are used as a spring lotion for the complexion, the young leaves bruised in lard, are considered a capital preparation for the skin, while the blood-like berries in autumn, when made into a thick wine is unrivalled for relaxed throats, or served hot, forms a splendid pick-me-up after a long journey on a wet cold winters night, and is to be found in nearly every country home'. Little wonder therefore that legends gather around the Elder tree, which has so many magical properties.

Conversely, however, another legend reports that if one has an elder tree in the garden, one will never be bothered by witches! Yet another legend has it that a witch does indeed reside in each elder tree and before lopping branches off the tree, permission should be asked of the residing witch. There is no report of what would occur if she said 'No', I should imagine that a disembodied voice issuing from an elder tree would provoke some alarm at least.

The origin of the stones is lost in antiquity and in a cornfield about five hundred yards to the south-east a further group of five stones exists huddled together.

They are known as the Whispering Knights because they appear to be, from a distance, kneeling men with heads close together as if in secret conclave.

Not long ago some visitors to the site were told that another party, who had been officially surveying the stone circle, had one evening been sitting inside the circle when a peculiar atmosphere had arisen. One of the party appeared to go into 'a

Kind of a trance' and before him appeared a wild female figure dressed in skins and brandishing a knife and threatening him, it was reported that 'her eyes blazed'. The fear generated by him spread to the rest of the party and they fled in disarray.

From 'Conversations with a witch' By: Lois Bourne.

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This account of the magic of the Rollright Stones is identical to something I experienced one summer solstice. This is from a book I read after my experience called 'Earth Magic' by Francis Hitching:

A dowser, Mrs Enid Smithert underwent a startling experience at the Rollright Stones. She had been dowsing in the circle for some hours: "To long, I think, I began to get dizzy and the sun had gone down. There is a definite change in the feeling of a stone circle after dark. I don't like them after dark. The power seems quite different."

As she came out of the circle, she says she felt extremely light-headed, and because of this, lost her grip on the pendulum, which slipped into the long grass. "It was in the height of summer, and the grass was as high as my waist. I didn't think I would have a chance of finding it, because it was only a small piece of plastic with a thread attached. But I ran my fingers through the grass, just in case, and my arm came up against what felt like a particularly tough blade of grass. It was difficult to bend over. I felt for it with my fingers and found it was the thread of the pendulum, sticking straight up in the air like an Indian rope trick."

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Compare that with the way the stones I touched came to life and rocked about in my hands, also seeing the movement with my eyes. Not once but twice. (Its a long story).Orionmoon.