1. The King's Men; 2. The Rollrights; 3. Haloed
THE KING'S MEN
oil on canvas | 32" x 40" | 2000 | £500
#LE1 print run 500 A3 | #GC42 (detail)
I gave this composition an almost Great War artist's sky of doom: with its legend of literally petrified soldiers this place is also silent with an air of desolation - although that's not a bad thing! In fact the only sounds you are likely to hear are from the occasional outdoor theatre performance. One of the first paintings I completed in this series, actually a late autumnal view as the trees begin to wither in keeping with the site's ambiance, and with some figure-like shadows lurking behind the stones. This image was used on the poster for the Salford Art Gallery exhibition, Past & Prospect, in 2003.
HALOED
oil on canvas | 10" x 14" | 2004 | £125
A depiction of The King Stone, the solitary marker a few hundred yards from the Rollright Stones. Like images of the two Kit's Coty sites in Kent, I removed the nasty gnarled railings which encircle the stone. The sad thing is that with this monolith's history of being chipped for souvenirs, the Rollrights themselves suffered vandalism in 2004 when they were covered in yellow paint.
ROLLRIGHT STONES (aka THE KING'S
MEN), OXFORDSHIRE
A ’countless’ stone circle and small group of
monuments standing on the Jurassic Way. Dating from
2500BCE, 77 stones are still standing from an initial
105, many having been removed in the C19th - although
around 30 were re-erected in 1882. Made up of local
limestone from nearby fields, none are above 6 tons in
weight or 4’ in height. Stukeley endearingly
described the stones as “corroded like worm-eaten
wood” - though they are possibly smoothed on the
inner circle side. The circle’s diameter is
108’, with a slight embankment but no ditch, and a
portalled entrance to the south east aligned to the
midsummer moonrise. The Rollright Stones have the
distinction of being Britain’s eastern-most stone
circle. A C17th excavation by Sheldon found nothing
within the circle, although a human jawbone, knife and
flint scraper have been discovered at the Whispering
Knights, a portal dolmen burial chamber in a neighbouring
field to the east. This site predates the circle by
around 1000 years. 230' east from the stone circle is the
solitary King Stone, possibly a marker for a bronze age
cairn and cemetery, and is the most recent of the
monuments - carbon 14 techniques have dated it to around
1800BCE. It stands 8’ tall with a peculiar shape due
to Victorian habits of chipping off pieces for souvenirs.
Whilst these are the three most visual sites in the
complex, there is evidence of a neolithic burial chamber
to the north west of the circle, bronze age barrows
around the King Stone and to the south of the Rollrights,
and an iron age settlement to the north east. The stones,
local villages of Little and Great Rollright owe their
names to the modern corruption of Hrolla-landriht -
‘the land with special rights to Rolla’. The
legend concerning this ancient site involves a King, some
knights, his army, and a witch who was obviously having a
good day. Crossing the Cotswolds, the King was challenged
thus: “Seven long strides thou shalt take, and if
Long Compton thou can see, King of England thou shalt
be.” Whilst the King’s men gathered in a circle
and his knights whispered treachery nearby, the King
strode forward only to find his view blocked by an
unexpected rise. “As Long Compton thou canst not
see,” exclaimed the witch, “King of England
thou shalt not be. Rise up stick and stand still stone,
for King of England thou shalt be none. Thou and thy men
hoar stones shall be and I myself an elder tree!”
Quite.
OS: SP.296.308 South of a minor road, west off the A3400
2 miles north from Chipping Norton. The King Stone is
across the road, whilst the Whispering Knights are 400
yards east of the circle & south from the road.
THE
ROLLRIGHTS
ink & charcoal | 15" x 9" | 2000 | £NFS
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