In order to support the e-reader version, where a back-button is not always available, it has been necessary to alter the endnotes slightly. – MB, January 2015.
Geomancy. Many place names are, of course, particularly relevant to the Ley system and to geomancy in general. Here, as in the rest of this essay, I list examples according to the number of the relevant 1:50,000 O/S sheet of the area. Thus on sheet 148 we have : Lea Farm (233617); The Ley (392512); Red Lay (349455); Coldharbour (458559). On sheet 149: The Lea (538622) and Lea Green (674640). Interestingly, on this same sheet, we have Laysters Pole (555636) – possibly a hark back to the ancient ley-line survey rod. Note also: sheet 149, Dodmarsh (575434); sheet 150, Cow Leigh Gate Farm (756479), Ley Farm (889392) and Tiddesley Wood (930455).
Also of interest to the Ley hunter are the following:
Sheet 148: Garnstone House (398500) and Garnstone [1] Wood (409492); Little Brampton [2] (204614); Devereux [3] Wootton (385485); Bunn’s [4] Lane(388477); Fforest Colwyn (105541) and Bury [5] Farm (488627); Warden [6] (305646); Gravesend [7] (107673); White Anthony Farm [8] (259731); St. Michael’s [9] Farm (186698); and Richard’s Castle [10] (495695).
On sheet 149: The Fulhams [11] (627655); Nicholson [12] (584581); Burgess Farm [13] (650523); Pixley [14] (661388); Robinscroft [15] (694363); St. Devereux [16] (439314); Turnastone [17] (357363).
Sheet 150: Robertsend [18] (836342) and Blakes Hill [19] (040392).
Sheet 161: Wern Watkin [20] (216153).
Folklore and Mythology. Equally of interest are clear folk-lore references contained in place names. Thus, on sheet 148, we have Great Hagley (= Hag-Ley) (341768); on sheet 149, we have Elvastone (= Elves-stone) (529281), Banses Wood (= Banshees Wood) (417330), and Shucknall (Shuck = Black Dog type phantom) (588427).
Arthurian Lore is naturally represented: Arthur’s Stone (315430) and the town of Knill [21] (292607) both appear on sheet 148, for example. And it is good to see Robin Hood lore put in a few appearances, thus:
Sheet 148: Friar’s Grove (483518); (King?) Richard’s Castle (495695).
Sheet 149: Robinscroft (694363).
Sheet 150: Tuck Mill Farm (081381); Bow Farm (877363); Bowmeadow Farm (068355); Nottingham Hill (985282).
Sheet 151: Robin Wood (526375); Loxley (252528) (Note also -ley ending).
Sheet 161: Tuck Mill (456392); Merry Hill (461371) and Coed Robin (290361).
Other mythological characters:
Sheet 149: Cinderella in Cinders Hill (590652) and Noddy in Poll Noddy (584435). There is also Aladdin, who has become The Laddin (665355); Great Bilbo (360292), from Tolkien; and the Egyptian god Amun, who appears in Ammons Hill (702527).
Sheet 150: Huckleberry Finn in Hucks Farm (767580); Puck in Puckrup village (885365).
Sheet 161: Cupid in Cupids Hill (410254).
But perhaps the item of greatest interest, and certainly the most curious, is the geomantic chess game, keyed into the place-name landscape:
Sheet 148: Kingsland(445619) ; Knighton (285725); Bishopston (420435) and Painscastle (= Pawns-castle?) (168462).
Sheet 149: The Castle (456282); Sheet 150: Queenhill (855365).
But not only this. Something far more intriguing than a simple chess game was frozen into the landscape – something associated with Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories, and, in particular, the Giant Chess Game Theme contained therein [22].
Thus, on sheet 148: Duchess Walk [23] (480757); New Invention [24] (293767); then, considered as a group, Old Shop (396667), Boatside Farm (225432), Sheepcote Farm (256467) & Sheepwalk (304599) [25]; The Riddle [26] (472629); Offa’s Dyke [27].
On sheet 149: Oyster Hill [28] (723416).
On sheet 150: Frog Pool [29] (803656), Rabbit Wood [30] (959579) and Pepper Hill [31] (736342).
Moreover, consider the curious fact that Lewis Carroll’s real surname was Dodgson – a name of geomantic undertones!
Metrology. The names of some of the traditional weights and measures of these Islands of ours figure prominently in the place names of the region. Thus:
Sheet 148: Pole Wood (430468); Pound Farm (254482); Ton Farm (251454); Inchmore (495659); Kings Acre (475415).
Sheet 149: Instone (= Inch-stone?) (650556); Layster’s Pole (555636); Stone Farm (515557); Flaggoner’s Green (645543); Kilpeck (445304); Paunceford Court (= Pounceford Court?) (674406); Bromyard 655545).
Sheet 150: Penny hill (752615); Pound Bank (796456); Pole Elm (837498).
Also of interest: on sheet 149, Weymans Wood (725620) – could be Weigh-mans Wood; and on sheet 148 we have Cabal (351588) – a possible variant on Cabala – and Canon Bridge (435411), which is self explanatory.
Robert Forrest. May 1977.
| [1] | Garnstone Press, 59, Brompton Rd, London – publishers of geomantic stuff. |
| [2] | See note 1. |
| [3] | Paul Devereux, editor of Ley Hunter at time of writing. |
| [4] | Ivan Bunn, editor of Lantern, author of “Black Bogs & Water” in Fortean Times 17. |
| [5] | The present author, & his home town of Bury. |
| [6] | Ian Worden, author of (amongst other things) “The Round Church of Orphir, Orkney” (IGR Papers No. 6). |
| [7] | Tom Graves, author of “Dowsing” (Turnstone). |
| [8] | Anthony Roberts, and his wife, run Zodiac House, in Fulham. |
| [9] | Michael Behrend, author of “Landscape Geometry in S. Britain”, IGR Papers 1. |
| [10] | Richard Elen (?), author of “Old Magic, New Magic”, in Ley Hunter 74. There is an Elan village on sheet 147 at 935651. |
| [11] | Zodiac House (note 8) is in Fulham. |
| [12] | John Nicholson, editor of Arcana. |
| [13] | M. W. Burgess, author of “Objections & Obscurities” in Ley Hunter 65. |
| [14] | Olive Pixley (note -ley ending), one of John Michell’s sources in View Over Atlantis. |
| [15] | Don Robins, author of Quartz Enigmas in Ley Hunter 75. |
| [16] | Paul Devereux (note 3) again. |
| [17] | Turnstone Press, with an extra a. |
| [18] | Anthony Roberts (note 8) again. |
| [19] | William Blake, favourite poet amongst many ley hunters & geomancers. |
| [20] | Alfred Watkins, author of The Old Straight Track, discoverer of leys. |
| [21] | Sir Ian Stuart-Knill, in 1972, and after 63 years of research, published his booklet “The Pedigree of Arthur”: Royal Family descended from Arthur. |
| [22] | TTLG Ch. 2: “It’s a great game of chess that’s being played – all over the world – if this is the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun it is!” |
| [23] | AIW Ch. 4, Duchess. |
| [24] | TTLG Ch. 8. “It’s my own invention”. |
| [25] | TTLG. Ch. 5. Wool and Water. |
| [26] | AIW Ch. 7. Mad Tea-Party: Why is a Raven like a writing Desk? |
| [27] | AIW. Ch. 8. “Offa with his head!” |
| [28] | TTLG. Ch. 4. Walrus & Carpenter Poem. |
| [29] | AIW Ch. 4, Frog-Footman. |
| [30] | AIW. Ch. l. |
| [31] | AIW Ch. 4, “Pig and Pepper” |
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