Reasons for Designation
Standing stones are prehistoric ritual or ceremonial monuments with dates
ranging from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age for the few
excavated examples. They comprise single or paired upright orthostatic slabs,
ranging from under lm to over 6m high where still erect. They are often
conspicuously sited and close to other contemporary monument classes. They can
be accompanied by various features: many occur in or on the edge of round
barrows, and where excavated, associated subsurface features have included
stone cists, stone settings, and various pits and hollows filled in with earth
containing human bone, cremations, charcoal, flints, pots and pot sherds.
Similar deposits have been found in excavated sockets for standing stones,
which range considerably in depth. Several standing stones also bear cup and
ring marks. Standing stones may have functioned as markers for routeways,
territories, graves, or meeting points, but their accompanying features show
they also bore a ritual function and that they form one of several ritual
monument classes of their period that often contain a deposit of cremation and
domestic debris as an integral component. No national survey of standing
stones has been undertaken, and estimates range from 50 to 250 extant
examples, widely distributed throughout England but with concentrations in
Cornwall, the North Yorkshire Moors, Cumbria, Derbyshire and the Cotswolds.
Standing stones are important as nationally rare monuments, with a high
longevity and demonstrating the diversity of ritual practices in the Late
Neolithic and Bronze Age. Consequently all undisturbed standing stones and
those which represent the main range of types and locations would normally be
considered to be of national importance.
The Long Stone 275m south east of Horseford Lodge survives well as an
unusual example of its class. Although originally erected as a standing
stone, the presence of five incised Christian crosses indicates that the
Long Stone continued to have religious significance into the medieval
period.
Details
This monument includes a standing stone upon which are incised five
depictions of the Christian cross. The stone is situated on a ridge
between the Adworthy Brook to the east and an unnamed tributary of the
Little Dart River to the west. The incised crosses indicate medieval use,
although it may have originally been erected as a prehistoric standing
stone. The stone is 2.18m high and rectangular in section. At the base it
measures 0.33m by 0.36m and tapers upwards until it measures 0.32m by
0.23m at the top. Each face of the rectangular stone has an incised,
simple depiction of a cross. On the northern face a simple cross has been
carved and this measures 0.17m high by 0.17m wide. The eastern face has
another simple cross, 0.09m high by 0.08m wide. On the western face is a
Maltese style cross measuring 0.16m high by 0.16m wide. The southern face
has a simple cross with rounded ends to the arms and shaft; this measures
0.12m high and 0.17m wide. There is a fifth inscribed cross on the top of
the stone.
The stone is leaning quite markedly, but has not shown any major signs of
drastic movement in the last 20 years.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
