Touchstone - No 066 - 2004 10

Magazine Overview

Title: Touchstone
Issue: No. 66
Date: October 2004
Publisher: Surrey Earth Mysteries Group

This issue of Touchstone delves into ancient sites, folklore, and the concept of ley lines, with a particular focus on Trellech in Wales and various locations across England.

Trellech: The City of the Stones

The lead article, "CITY OF THE STONES," explores Trellech, situated on the Welsh side of the Wye Valley. Originally known as "The City of the Stones," Trellech boasts a history dating back to prehistory and was a significant medieval settlement, even outshining larger Welsh towns like Carmarthen, Newport, and Swansea. The area was traversed by a Roman road and flourished as a Borough in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Its decline began in 1291 following an incident involving the Earl of Norfolk. Further hardship came with the Black Death in 1349 and later attacks by Owain Glyndwr. By 1700, it was described as a "poore inconsiderable village." Recent excavations, televised locally, have revealed the much larger extent of the original town.

The article highlights several ancient features in Trellech:

• The Harold Stones: These are three large puddingstone conglomerate monoliths, traditionally linked to Saxon King Harold. Local legends speak of strange forcefields associated with them. They are considered to be much older than the Saxon period.
• The Terret Tump: A Norman motte (mound) is also present in the village.
• The Virtuous Well: This well, also known as St. Anne's Well, is surrounded by a semicircular wall with stone seats and was reputed to cure various ailments from its four springs. It is noted that pieces of cloth were found tied to a nearby tree.

The church in Trellech, dating from the fourteenth century (though Victorian restored), is also mentioned. A remarkable sundial inside the church depicts the stones, mound, and well. The article suggests that the church serves as a ley centre, with alignments connecting it to numerous other sites.

Ley Lines and Alignments in Trellech

The article traces several ley lines passing through Trellech. One ley originates from the Skirrid and passes through various points including a cross at Croes y Gareg, tracks, roads, springs, and wells, eventually crossing the Wye to Woolaston Church. Another ley connects Itton Church, described as a major ley centre, with Trellech Church and other sites. A ley passing through the church and the Virtuous Well connects to Littlemill Farm, various cross-roads, springs, and the site of Grace Dieu Abbey.

Another ley is traced from St. John the Baptist's Well near Staunton, passing through several points including Trellech Church, and continuing to Newchurch Church and various tracks and a hilltop point. The church mound-stones alignment is noted to pass through Ruxton Green, Lewstone, and Wyesham.

Other Ancient Sites and Ley Lines

The magazine also features other locations and their connections to ley lines and earth energies:

• Kilgwrrg Church: Described as one of the oldest and remotest churches in Wales, it is situated on a hill and has a circular stone-walled churchyard. A stone by the gate resembles a standing stone, and a strange human face is visible on the west wall. The churchyard has a pre-Norman cross. Two tracks lead to the churchyard, and both are associated with leys, including one leading to Itton Church.
• East-West Track Ley: This ley is described as a prehistoric routeway, passing through an earthwork at Camp Farm, Llangwn, the Kilgwrrg Stones, and various other points, eventually crossing the Wye into England.
• Entrance Track Ley: This ley runs southwards from a spring north of Newcastle, passing through a motte and bailey, a church at Church Farm, Llangoran, and a spring near a cross-tracks, eventually reaching Kilgwrrg Church.
• Ley to Itton Church: This ley comes from the southeast, passing through Kilgwrrg Church and continuing to various points including a clump at Glyn and a main multijunction at Itton Common.
• Severn Estuary Ley: A ley is described running from a rock named Dod Rock in the Severn estuary, passing through Tidenham Church, and connecting to various multijunctions and sites, including St. Briavels Church and Castle.
• The Copped Hall Stone: This holed stone, located near Waltham Abbey, is identified as a centre for several good leys. One ley connects it to the Eleanor Cross at Waltham Cross, a site associated with Queen Eleanor's funeral route. Other leys from the stone connect to Epping Church, High Ongar Church, and various other locations.
• Pleshey Castle: This twelfth-century Norman motte is part of a ley that also passes through Pleshey Church and Castle, described as a centre of arts and chivalry.
• Lambourne Stone: Another stone in the churchyard at Lambourne is on a ley going to the Copped Hall stone, and continues to sites like Ambersbury Banks, an Iron Age plateau fort.
• The Knocking Knoll: This site, a long barrow at Pegsdon, is associated with legends of a buried chieftain and is part of a ley that goes through a moat at Apsley End.

Other Features and Publications

• Two Wells in West Somerset: An article by Norman Darwen describes his research into local wells in Wellington, Somerset, specifically 'The Well' (a road name) and 'Holywell Lake'. He recounts local beliefs and the history of these sites.
• Notes and News: This section includes announcements for TEMS meetings, London Earth Mysteries Circle meetings, and the Society of Ley Hunters Moot. It also mentions Mollie Carey's work on apparent ancient carvings at Stonehenge and Avebury, with a website dedicated to her research.
• Publications: Several books and a CD-ROM are advertised:
• "The Hidden Unity and Beginnings" by Alfred Watkins, exploring subconscious siting of ley points and discoveries related to earth energy.
• "Earth People, Space People" by Tony Wedd, detailing extraterrestrial contact claims.
• "The Legacy of Tony Wedd" CD-ROM, an electronic exhibition of Tony Wedd's research on flying saucers and landscape energies.
• "MEYN MAMVRO" - a guide to ancient stones and sacred sites in Cornwall.
• "Leylines and earth energies at Avebury henge" - an illustrated guide.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the interconnectedness of ancient sites through ley lines, the presence of earth energies, and the exploration of local folklore and history surrounding these locations. The magazine promotes the study of earth mysteries and ley hunting, encouraging readers to investigate these phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry into these subjects, presenting research and anecdotal evidence without definitive conclusions, but with a clear interest in the esoteric and historical aspects of the landscape.