The Stoup

Nearest town:
Wirksworth (6km ENE)
OS reference:
SK233522
OS sheet:
119
Latitude:
53° 3' 58.14 N
Longitude:
1° 39' 8.08 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of The Stoup (Standing Stone / Menhir) by baza

The Stoup standing stone stoops, possibly to take a drink from the stoup. (A stoup is a small basin for holy water.)

baza
baza Aug 3, 2005

Articles

The Stoup

Ravenfeather
Ravenfeather Aug 13, 2011

Visited 11th June 2011

Another Derbyshire daytrip on another sunny day. We’re visiting a couple of standing stones just outside Ashbourne, some of the closest ancient sites to where we live, but I never even knew they existed until recently. The Stoup was refreshingly easy to find, visible from the road, standing proud in its field, although leaning at such a dangerous angle it look as if it’s about to keel over at any minute!

Cupmarks are clearly visible on one side of the stone, they look a little too regular to me to be natural, which only reinforces my belief that this is a Neolithic, rather than Saxon monument. Also interesting is the way that the incised cross is carved on the same side as the cupmarks, maybe the cupmarks were seen as having pagan symbolism even in Saxon times, and this was an attempt to ameliorate this?

There is a lovely view out to the west, with the lean of the stone pointing towards the distant hills, and the meadow the stone stands in is dotted with flowers. A nice spot to sit and contemplate, if only the wind weren’t so fierce, so time to press on to the pub in Cromford I think!

The Stoup

postman
postman Oct 15, 2006

Situated close to the road,at the junction of the B5035 and the small road heading north to Brassington.Overlooking Carsington water the stone is about 6ft high but without it’s bad lean would be considerably taller,the stone has a number of markings a small cross and a number of probably natural cupmarks.
A good stone with a good view to the west

Folklore

The Stoup
Standing Stone / Menhir
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Jan 21, 2025

Interesting Incised Megalith.
We are indebted to Mr T.A. Matthews [for the particulars of] a very interesting incised megalith, which is to be seen at Owslow Farm, Carsington, about half-way between Ashbourne and Wirksworth. This relic (said by some authorities to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old) certainly has the appearance of considerable antiquity, and there are several stories related in connection with it.

One is to the effect that it was an altar used in the Druidical days; another states that it marks a burial place, while there is a local tradition that an erstwhile great man of Brassington kicked the stone from a neighbouring hill to its present position.

But the most interesting feature of the “stoup” is a deeply cut cross on its southern face. This cross is not readily noticeable, owing to the growth of moss. It measures about 6 inches by 2 inches, and the arms are not square to the shaft, the one to the right, or east, being considerably higher than the one to the left, or west.

The stone itself measures about 7 feet in vertical height above the ground, and about 7 feet 6 inches on the centre line. It is a matter for serious consideration whether the “stoup” should be restored to an upright position. It has fallen over to the south and west, and is probably still subsiding.

From the Ashbourne News Telegraph, 24th October 1913.

Miscellaneous

The Stoup
Standing Stone / Menhir
stubob
stubob Mar 7, 2007

In A.E & E.M Dodds’ excellent book ‘Peakland Roads and Trackways’ they mention the stone as marking a change in direction along the Saxon track called the Old Portway.
The Kings Chair outcrop on the NE horizon pointing where to head next.

I’ve read elsewhere that the small cross may have been an attempt to christianise an ancient pagan stone...Although on the other hand the cross may indicate the stone’s close proximity to the parish boundary and was included in the Rogationtide perambulations as elsewhere in the Peak.

Sites within 20km of The Stoup

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