The Hawk Stone at Dean
16 March 2021 (Updated 8 September 2021)
The Neolithic standing stone known as the Hawk Stone stands in a field on Spelsbury Down about 800 metres north of the village of Dean.
The stone stands on its own, but it has been suggested that at one time it was part of a larger group of stones.
A history of witchcraft?
Corbett's History of Spelsbury (1962) records a local belief that the cleft at the top of the stone was made by the chains of the witches who were chained to the stone to be burned.
Another legend is that the stone was dragged or thrown into its current position by a witch.
Some suggest that the stone's name comes from a supposed resemblance to a hawk, although it may just be a corruption of 'hoar', meaning 'old'.
The Hoar Stone at Enstone is a few miles to the east, and lay hunters believe that the two are joined by the lay line that runs east-west across the county here.
