The Bowstones or Bow Stones are a pair of Anglian cross shafts in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. Situated beside the old ridgeway between

Disley Disley is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England. It is located on the edge of the Peak District in the Goyt Valley, south of Stockport and close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills. The popu ...

and

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

, overlooking

Lyme Park Lyme Park is a large Estate (land), estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It is managed by the National Trust and consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a Deer park (England), deer park in the Peak District National ...

, the

Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded by t ...

, the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and the hills of the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

, they are a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. The western shaft is high and tapers from circumference of at the base to at the top. The eastern shaft is high and has a circumference of . Both are decorated with interlaced carvings in a style indicating a date of the 10th century or earlier. There is some later lettering engraved. Their round cross section and their erection as a pair is unusual for crosses of this era. They may have been moved to their current location in the 16th century by Sir Piers Legh of

Lyme Hall Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It is managed by the National Trust and consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in ...

. Two stone cross heads on display at the hall may have originally surmounted the shafts. Local legend states that the name is derived from their use by

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

and his men to re-string their bows. Their location on a prominent ridgeline on the edge of the Peak District National Park with extensive views, near to the popular visitor attraction of Lyme Park and by the crossing of several

public footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide va ...

s (including the

Gritstone Trail The Gritstone Trail, or Cheshire Gritstone Trail, is a long-distance footpath in England which follows the most westerly hills of the Peak District from Disley Station to Mow Cop, and on via the Macclesfield Canal to Kidsgrove Station. Man ...

) and a minor road make them a well-visited site.

Other sources

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References

Scheduled monuments in Cheshire {{Cheshire-geo-stub