Found behind the Norman church in Rudston, an ancient village in the East Riding of Yorkshire is the tallest standing stone in Britain. It said that no one knows how or why the stone stands in a remote village.
Rudston is a little village that can be found in between Driffield and Bridlington – and is a quiet and remote spot with a hidden mystery.
The Ruston Monolith stands at a massive 25ft high (7.6metres) and has the same length again buried beneath the surface. Sir William Strickland’s excavation in the late 18th century revealed the death of the huge stone.. The circumference of it is 5 metres, and no one knows how it got there.
What is a monolith?
A monolith is a large single upright block of stone, especially one shaped into or serving as a pillar or monument.
Made of grey gritstone, the stone is approximately 5 feet 8 inches wide and 3ft 3inches thick and it is estimated to weigh 40 tonnes, something you wouldn’t want to fall on top of you. It’s believed that the top of the stone was broken off, and was it still there it would have stood at 28ft (8.5metre).
How did the Rudstone Monolith get there?
It said that the rock is crafted from glomerate Moorstone grit, which is sourced from the Cleveland Hills near Whitby, Yorkshire, which is over 40 miles away. It must have taken immense strength and labour to transport it such a huge distance.
It is believed that the monument dates back to either the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze age. It’s said that the Norman church, which will have been built at least 3,000 years after the stone had already stood in place, was almost certainly intentionally built on the site as it was already considered sacred.
The name Rudstone comes from the Old English “Rood-stane” meaning cross-stone which implies the stone was already being used for Christian purposes. It presumed that the stone served as a sacred site or worship centre for the indigenous pagan religion in prehistoric times.
Due to the type of stone at certain times of the year when the sun shines on it, the stone can appear orange or a dark red. The churchyard where the huge rock is found is also the place where author Winifred Holtby is buried, known for her novel South Riding.
All traces of its existence have vanished with the Domesday survey of 1086 not recording any church building in Rudston.
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Feature Image Credit: Photo © Gordon Hatton (cc-by-sa/2.0)
