Albert Einstein

St James’ church was founded in around AD 1000 and appears to be a ‘minster’ church, that is, a church held by the crown and serving a large area. A little of the history of the church can be found here.

The tub font is possibly of Saxon origin but has detailed carving of the first quarter of the 12th century. It was apparently done by a local stonemason and probably shows Christ trampling on two dragons, representing evil and sin. However the figure holds a crosier and so has also been held to represent a bishop, although Professor George Zarnecki believes that the rustic sculptor misunderstood the picture that he was copying and added the crosier.

One of the glories of this church is the 15th century rood loft, originally used to house the Great Rood, or large crucifix, the most revered object in the early church. In the top rail to the loft parapet are the original 17 sockets that held candles that were kept burning to light the Rood. The Rood would have been destroyed after the Reformation and the loft and screen were removed, probably following an order of 1561 from Elizabeth I. Normally the timber would have been reused but almost uniquely the Avebury church managed to hide and preserve their rood loft. The timbers were stacked against the east wall of the nave, above the chancel arch, and covered with a lath and plaster wall. This was a very risky business for all concerned but the secret was well kept and the timbers were not discovered until 1810. The rood loft was restored in the 1878 – 1884 renovations, and the loft parapet repainted with matching colours to those noted on the woodwork by the architect, Charles E. Ponting. A new panelled screen was provided below with paintings of the apostles, set against gilded fields, in the lower panels.

Circles within circles:

Within the encircling bank and ditch, the great Outer Circle of Avebury once held 100 standing stones and was the largest stone circle in the British Isles. Arranged north and south inside it, stood two inner circles of large stones, with probably around 30 stones each. Within those in turn stood more stones: in the Southern Circle there were a rectangular or trapezoid setting of (chest-high) stones, of which a line now remains, and a tall pillar of sarsen (known as the obelisk), which was broken up in the 18th century and is now marked by a large pyramid-shaped concrete marker; in the Northern Circle a now-buried setting of the stones, possibly curving rows, and at its centre three huge stones, two of which still stand (known as the Cove).*

The cove:

Close to the road in the north-east quadrant of the henge are two of the tallest stones at Avebury. These form part of what has been know as the cove since the 18th century, named by the antiquary William Stukeley. Until 1713 (according to Stukeley) this setting had a third stone, standing as a pair to the tall, slim southern stone and forming, with the other two, a space rather like a stage without a roof.*

The Devil’s Chair:

This stone has a platform on it which is thought to be a seat. The stone is perfectly positioned to view the rising midwinter sun through the southern causeway entrance. The location of the chair also allows a view of the setting midwinter sun which can still be partly seen today.

In their book Avebury Sun, Moon and Earth, Maria Wheatley and Busty Taylor found that this stone had an active magnetic zone which when seated on the stone was near to the head and shoulders. The authors used a Spectrum Analyser and electromagnetic equipment to study the stones and found either three or five magnetic energy bands depending on the height of the stone. Their magnetic readings concluded that energy bands existed, but were unsure if the reading was from the stones themselves or due to their placement. The stone tapping into the magnetic energy of the earth.

*From National Trust 2008 guide book to Avebury revised 2011.

The West Kennet Avenue leading to the Avebury circle can easily be seen whilst driving to and from Avebury on the whilst travelling along the B4003. Originally there would probably have been around 100 pairs of standing stones.

Each pair arranged roughly  20-30cm from the next pair with the stones of each pair standing around 15m apart. The Avenue ran for about 1.6 miles from the southern entrance of Avebury henge to a double stone circle on Overton Hill, now known as the Sanctuary.*

There is a second avenue, The Beckhampton Avenue, leaving Avebury by what it now the high street. This was a similar pairing of stones leading from what is now the hamlet of Beckhampton. In 1999 stones from this avenue were rediscovered as part of a project by three universities to test for its existence. There is also speculation that there might once have four avenues but so far there is no evidence to confirm this.

Seeing the car in the first photo is a little poignant because that car was on its  final holiday adventure.

*From National Trust 2008 guide book to Avebury revised 2011.

Blaise Pascal

After a good nights sleep my back was still playing up so I had to be careful and keep my back straight.  The hotel breakfast was good and unlike the breakfast experience in London it was an enjoyable, relaxing affair looking out over the Cathedral grounds.

After breakfast we set off for Avebury to pick up where we left off on our previous visit in June. This time we were were able to take a pleasant leisurely walk around the stones.  There was on slight hiccup and that was due to coincidental timing.  There was a particular stone that I wanted to investigate close up.  One of the stones that faces the southern avenue and it appears to have a seat.  Depending on what you read some say this was used to oversee processions to the Avebury site and refer to the magnetic properties of the stone in relation to this.

When we arrived at that stone a group of Germans were congregated in front of it taking part in some sort of ceremony that involved chanting, dancing and perhaps praying.  They had piled all their bags up in front of the stone so it wasn’t even possible to sneak behind them for closer inspection of the stone.  We decided to move on and come back and investigate later.

After we finished our walk around stone circle we visited the Parish Church of St. James, the small museum, had lunch and visited the shop where I purchased the two books that I regretted not buying on my previous visit.

We then made our way back to the illusive stone.  I photographed it an sat on the supposed seat to see if the reported magnetic properties of the stone had any effect. I felt nothing… We then left Avebury, stopping off for an obligatory glimpse of glimpse of Silbury Hill before making our way to Old Sarum, the site of the oldest settlement in Salisbury and the site of the Cathedral before a new one was built in ‘New Salisbury’.

After all that walking it was time to return to the hotel to freshen up before going out for our evening meal. This involved me having a nice relaxing bath which greatly eased the problems I was having with my back.  The evening meal was nice but the wine was rather expensive! We called stopped off at ‘The Oak’ before making our way back to the hotel. Along the way we bumped into some Street Pastors and stopped to have a chat with them.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we miscalculated the time we needed to enjoy Avebury.  I have the strong urge to visit the site again as soon as possible. On my brief visit I managed to capture a few photographs of some of the stones.  I hope you enjoy them.

Avebury is a fascinating site that connects to other prominent features in the ancient landscape.  What remains of the Avebury Circles is largely reconstructed. In the 1930s Alexander Keiller having purchased the site of Avebury and part of West Kennet Avenue started to excavate the site and in time restore the site to some of its former glory.  Where stones had been removed he placed concrete plinths to mark their former position.  The outbreak of WWII put a stop to the excavations and restoration. Sadly the excavations have never been resumed.

The monuments of Neolithic Avebury form one of the most complete prehistoric complexes in Europe.

The Avebury Circle (c2600 – 2100BC) is one of the largest henges in Britain. The monument, although undated by modern dating methodss, was probably constructed between the first and second phases of Stonehenge (3100 and 2100BC), and is roughly contemporary with the henges of Durrington Walls and Woodhenge. Unlike Stonehenge, the local Sarsen stones of Avebury Circles are of natural unworked stone.

The earliest monument in the complex is Windmill Hill, which was first occupied in c3700BC, during the Earlier Neolithic. The enclosures of the cause-wayed ‘camp’ were constructed c3250BC, and are contemporary with the earliest constructions at The Sanctuary.

The West Kennet Long Barrow (c3700 – 3500BC), is one of the largest and best-preserved chambered tombs in Britain. It was in use for over 1000 years.

Despite the detailed excavations at Silbury Hill (2700BC), the purpose of this larges man-made mound in Europe remains a mystery.

The West Kennet Avenue of standing stones (c2300-2000BC) was constructed as a ceremonial route linking the Avebury Circles with the structures of the Sanctuary.

The Alexander Keiller Museum at Avebury forms the interpretive centre of the complex. It contains many exciting finds and displays from excavations at Avebury and provides a graphic history of the monuments. *

*From ‘The Prehistoric Monuments of Avebury’ by English Heritage – 1994 edition.

After breakfast we set off for Avebury, taking in Woodhenge along the way.  Unfortunately Avebury was a little bit further than we thought. We didn’t have enough time there because we had a timed ticket for Stonehenge at 2pm.  The Avebury experience wasn’t helped by roadworks that made access to the main interests difficult.   All we had time for was a cup of tea, a quick look at the museum and some of the stones and a brief visit to the book shop (where I regret not buying two books that caught my eye).

As we left to make our way to Stonehenge we briefly stopped to photograph Silbury Hill.  Our viewpoint was not from the normal visitor carpark, but from the side of the road. From this viewpoint the hill looked particularly impressive set against the rest of the landscape.

On arrival at Stonehenge we had lunch in the new cafe before picking up our tickets from the kiosk where there was no queuing unlike my previous visits.  I have to say I am very impressed with the new visitor arrangements and the re-connection of the stones to their landscape environment. More on this in a future blog post.

After the Stonehenge experience we dropped the car off at the hotel.  Mum retired to the hotel to give her leg a well earned rest and Mr C and I strolled to the Cathedral so that we could enjoy the magnificent building in the sunshine (see ‘Back from my Travels’).

As luck would have it our first choice of  restaurant was booked up at the time we wanted so we resorted to plan B, ending up in ‘The Haunch of Venison’.  This was a perfect venue for our D-Day celebration.  A charming young gentleman waited on us and the food was delicious.  We found that the waiter was originally from Bromsgrove (not far from us). Along the way he told us that his potential professional football career had been terminated when he broke his leg.  After the meal he and Mum (both having broken a leg) were sharing stories and comparing ankle swellings…

After the ankle comparisons we strolled back to the hotel for a nightcap before retiring for the night.