Castlerigg Stone Circle
The stone circle at Castlerigg (alternatively Keswick Carles, Carles, Carsles, Castle-rig or Druids' Circle) is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
Various archaeologists have commented positively on the beauty and romance of the Castlerigg ring and its natural environment. In his study of the stone circles of Cumbria, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that the site was "one of the most visually impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain."
Every year, thousands of tourists travel to the site, making it the most visited stone circle in Cumbria. This plateau forms the raised centre of a natural amphitheatre created by the surrounding fells and from within the circle it is possible to see some of the highest peaks in Cumbria: Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Grasmoor and Blencathra.
Castlerigg stone circle was one of the monuments included in the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, which included a 'Schedule' of 68 sites in Great Britain and Ireland. It thus became one of the first scheduled ancient monuments. The following year the stone circle was 'taken in to state care'. Under the 1882 act a deed of guardianship could be entered into by a landowner, in which the monument, but not the land it stands on, becomes the property of the state. As one of the first such sites to enter into such an agreement it occupies a small place in the history of archaeological conservation. In 1913, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust, was among the prime organisers of a public subscription which bought the field in which the stone circle stands, which he then donated to the National Trust.Responsibility for the stone circle remains with English Heritage, the successor body to the Ministry of Works, whilst ownership of the site is retained by the National Trust.
Castlerigg Stone Circle
The stone circle at Castlerigg (alternatively Keswick Carles, Carles, Carsles, Castle-rig or Druids' Circle) is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
Various archaeologists have commented positively on the beauty and romance of the Castlerigg ring and its natural environment. In his study of the stone circles of Cumbria, archaeologist John Waterhouse commented that the site was "one of the most visually impressive prehistoric monuments in Britain."
Every year, thousands of tourists travel to the site, making it the most visited stone circle in Cumbria. This plateau forms the raised centre of a natural amphitheatre created by the surrounding fells and from within the circle it is possible to see some of the highest peaks in Cumbria: Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Grasmoor and Blencathra.
Castlerigg stone circle was one of the monuments included in the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, which included a 'Schedule' of 68 sites in Great Britain and Ireland. It thus became one of the first scheduled ancient monuments. The following year the stone circle was 'taken in to state care'. Under the 1882 act a deed of guardianship could be entered into by a landowner, in which the monument, but not the land it stands on, becomes the property of the state. As one of the first such sites to enter into such an agreement it occupies a small place in the history of archaeological conservation. In 1913, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust, was among the prime organisers of a public subscription which bought the field in which the stone circle stands, which he then donated to the National Trust.Responsibility for the stone circle remains with English Heritage, the successor body to the Ministry of Works, whilst ownership of the site is retained by the National Trust.