KIT'S COTY 1. The Dolmen of Kit's Coty; 2. Kit's Coty House; 3. The Countless Stones KIT'S COTY HOUSE oil on board | 10" x 12" | 2003 | £NFS Probably the first ancient monument I can recall visiting, being relatively close to where I was brought up. Rather a stark representation in keeping with the site's recent history of vandalism and impalement of invariably drunken people on the tall railings supposedly erected to protect it - but not them, obviously. These railings are now quite buckled and even more dangerous after several car attacks.		KIT’S COTY HOUSE, KENT The neolithic portal dolmen of a chambered long barrow, with the 180’ earthen barrow lost to ploughing. Stukeley showed the mound of the barrow to have been substantially reduced by 1772, and a single stone to the western end, the General’s Tombstone, was removed in 1867. The tallest stone is 8’ high and the capstone measures 13’ by 9’. One legend connected with the site states that it was built by three witches from nearby Bluebell Hill, although they needed to enlist a fourth to raise the capstone. Cope notes in the exquisite Modern Antiquarian that any object placed on the capstone at full moon and walked round 3 times will disappear. He also suggests that the name derives from the warrior king Catigern, who was buried here after losing to Horsa in 455CE, although the likelihood is that it is from the Celtic meaning ‘chapel in the woods’. One of several monuments in the Medway Valley. OS: TQ.745.608 A short uphill walk along a track at a minor junction west of the A229 between the M20 and M2. THE DOLMEN OF KIT'S COTY oil on board | 16" x 16" | 2000 | £NFS
LITTLE KIT’S COTY (aka THE COUNTLESS STONES), KENT The jumbled remains of a long barrow, part of the Medway Barrows group. Found at the foot of the hill to the remains of Kit’s Coty House, this site was demolished in the 1700s for building materials. The 20 or so sarsens are said to be countless, although it’s a lot easier since the tree growing in the middle of them has been removed. OS: TQ.744.604 To the south of a minor road off the A229, between the M2 and M20. I removed the annoying foot high modern fence which bounds this site but retained the field layout to maintain present context. When I visited Little Kit's Coty last I was surprised to find the famous tree had been chainsawed and that the site was covered in sawdust, so I added a generic sapling to the image, in homage and because I sadly could not recall the species. Things are constantly evolving or simply changing, although these remnants, destroyed in form, have outlasted both memory and landscape. Back to: The Gallery | Home		THE COUNTLESS STONES oil on board | 18" x 14" | 2003 | £NFS