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Viewing swaag.org website implies consent to set cookies on your computer. Full details Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group
Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation Number 1155775
SWAAG Honorary President:
Tim Laurie FSA

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 *****SWAAG_ID***** 511
 Date Entered 03/05/2012
 Updated on 07/05/2012
 Recorded by Tim Laurie
 Category Standing Stones / Circles
 Record Type Northern Britain
 SWAAG Site Name 
 Site Type 
 Site Name 
 Site Description 
 Site Access Public Access Land
 Record Date 29/04/2012
 Location Penrith. Eamont Bridge. Mayburgh Henge.
 Civil Parish Not known
 Brit. National Grid NY 5192 2843
 Altitude 130m
 Geology Glacial drift 110m south of the River Eamont.
 Record Name SWAAG in Eden Part Three. ThePenrith Henges: Mayburgh and Round Table Henges.
 Record Description Our visit to the very impressive Mayburgh Henge on a fine clear April Day was a surprising delight to most SWAAG Members who had frequently raced past Eamont Bridge on their way to the Lake District blissfully unaware of the existence of this monumental earthwork, the 'Avebury of the North'. The dimensions of Mayburgh Henge (extracted from the RCHME Survey,Topping 1992) are worth stating: 'Mayburgh is almost perfectly circular on plan with a level interior measuring some 90m from north to south and 87.5m transversely. The single entrance faces eastward. The surrounding bank , which is composed almost entirely of water rounded cobbles from the nearby River Eamont varies in scale from a minimum of 37.4m wide and 3.8m high on the northern perimeter to a maximum of 45m wide and 7.2m high externally at the entrance'. SWAAG Members were also impressed by the surviving standing stone within the henge, see photos. This stone is the survor of an original quadrilateral setting of four similar stones, and two further aligned stones at each side of the entrance. This stone setting was originally described by Sir William Dugdale in 1664 whose account and sketches were later copied by John Aubrey in his Monumenta Brittanica (See also the reference to Topping 1992 below). A full description of all the the two well preserved henge monuments at Eamont Bridge (Mayburgh and Round Table Henges) and of the slight earthwork known as Little Table is available, see: Peter Topping, 1998. The Penrith Henges: A Survey by the Royal Coomission for the Historical Monuments of England. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 58, pp249-264.
 Dimensions See above
 Geographical area 
 Species 
 Scientific Name 
 Common / Notable Species 
 Tree and / or Stem Girth 
 Tree: Position / Form / Status 
 Tree Site ID 0
 Associated Site SWAAG ID 0
 Additional Notes The Round Table Henge located on the busy A6 Road at the centre of Eamont Bridge was not included on the SWAAG Itinery but a couple of photos were taken and are included here.
 Image 1 ID 2775         Click image to enlarge
 Image 1 Description SWAAG Members at the Standing Stone within Mayburgh Henge.
 Image 2 ID 2774         Click image to enlarge
 Image 2 Description SWAAG Members at Mayburgh Henge
 Image 3 ID 2772         Click image to enlarge
 Image 3 Description Mayburgh viewed from the east.
 Image 4 ID 2773         Click image to enlarge
 Image 4 Description Mayburgh viewed from the east.
 Image 5 ID 2776         Click image to enlarge
 Image 5 Description 
 Image 6 ID 2778         Click image to enlarge
 Image 6 Description View though the entrance.
 Image 7 ID 2780         Click image to enlarge
 Image 7 Description Meadow saxifrage (S. granulata) on the bank.
 Image 8 ID 2781         Click image to enlarge
 Image 8 Description The Round Table Henge
 Image 9 ID 2783         Click image to enlarge
 Image 9 Description The Round Table Henge
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