Staddle Stone, Througham
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Staddle Stone, Througham by Rob Farrow as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Staddle Stone, Througham
Image: © Rob Farrow Taken: 24 Jun 2006
This staddle stone is outside the Image in Througham. They were originally used to raise hay ricks off the ground so that vermin (especially rats) could not get into the rick - the overhanging lip of the "mushroom" cap being impossible for the rat to climb round. Other references suggest that these stones (sometimes referred to as saddle rather than staddle stones) were originally used to grind corn upon. The ears of wheat being rubbed or rolled between a hand-held smaller stone and the top of the saddle stone. It is supposed (so I have read) that the characteristic domed mushroom shape was caused through usage, the top originally being flat - I'm not sure I entirely believe that.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.770616
Longitude
-2.117339