Some past historical surveys have dismissed it, others have considered it an ancient standing stone. Today, for a short time after the hedge is flailed, you may just see it; until the hedge grows and covers it once more.
Historic England's ‘list’ provides an unequivocal status for ancient monuments. Being on that list confers statutory protection. Albeit that sometimes doesn’t mean much as many historic sites around here, as elsewhere in England, have been destroyed by agriculture over the past fifty years.
This stone isn’t on the list!
© 2022 Paul Mobbs; released under the Creative Commons license.
Created: 18th April 2021;
Updated: 2nd March 2023.
Length: ~500 words.
Location: Churchill, Oxfordshire
Type: ‘Standing Stones, Circles, & Megaliths’.
Condition: Standing, but buried in hedge, and for that reason difficult to spot.
Access: On edge of B4450 next to footpath.
OS Grid Ref.: SP293256.
Further information: The Northern Antiquarian.
Walks posts or videos for this site:
A paved footpath runs out from Chipping Norton along the side of the B4450, all the way to the ‘Old London Road’ crossroads – but not beyond the crossroads. On foot, this is the easiest way to access the stone, before turning north or south in the much quieter Old London Road to access other nearby sites.
In Medieval times, before the coming of the turnpike roads, this was the road to London from Worcester along the ridge towards Oxford. About a hundred metres before the standing stone can be found in the hedge on the north/downhill side of the road.
This short, solitary stone is buried well into the hedge-line. It is visible during the Winter, though that might not be the case later in the year after the leaves have flushed.
The scars of erosion and its crust of lichens profess a great age for the stone. But its seemingly diminutive stature has led it to be routinely ignored – and slowly buried in the earth bank as leaf litter and debris from the road accumulates all around it. It’s that mystery which makes it worth a visit.