Fernacre (), also known as Fernacre stone circle or Fernacre circle, is a stone circle located on the slopes of the De Lank River, northeast of St Breward on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the United Kingdom.

Description

It has been suggested to mean ''bracken-land'' or come from the old plural for fairy; ''feren'', who were said to be sacred to the ancient Cornish. Fernacre is one of the biggest stone circles in Cornwall. It is slightly flattened in a northwest to southeast direction, measuring by The circle contains some 68 or 69 stones with a further 3 displaced within, 38 or 39 remain standing upright. They are deeply sunk into the soil with the tallest stone measuring high and the longest fallen stone . Fernacre is a marker for the start of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

drove road A drovers' road, drove ''roador droveway is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; ot ...

from

Rough Tor Rough Tor (), or Roughtor, is a tor on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site is composed of the tor summit and logan stone, a neolithic tor enclosure, a large number of Bronze Age hut circles, and some contemporary monuments. Top ...

to Garrow.

Archaeology

The ruins of what was called Fernacre farm were first recorded in 1327 AD. Numerous

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s dot the landscape nearby and it has been suggested that the dating for Fernacre is contemporary with these. No bones or remains were found in these hut circles, only a few flaked flints gave clues to its occupation. The Fernacre settlement covered 164 acres, of which 84 show signs of having been farmed. The dating of the sites is uncertain although it has been suggested to have been constructed either in the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. There are signs that the circle had a retaining bank of earth on its southeast.

Alignments

Fernacre carries a pivotal location between

located due north and

Brown Willy Brown Willy (possibly meaning "hill of swallows" or meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about northwest ...

located due east. Garrow Tor also lies to the east and Louden Hill to the west-southwest. It is only 100 ft from being in a direct line in an easterly direction between Stannon and

Brown Willy Cairns Brown Willy (possibly meaning "hill of swallows" or meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about northwest ...

, another small erect stone stands in this line eastwards on the way to

which has been suggested to mark the equinox sunrise. William Page note that when viewed from the centre of Fernacre circle the sunset on 1 May would align approximately with Louden Hill.

Literature

* * * *

References

External links

Cornwall's Archaeological Heritage – field guide to accessible sites – Fernacre stone circle

Illustrated entry in the Megalithic Portal

Pastscape – English Heritage entry about Fernacre stone circle
* {{European Standing Stones Bodmin Moor Stone circles in Cornwall