CPAT Regional Historic Environment Record
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Four Stones

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 1072
Trust : Clwyd Powys
Community : Old Radnor
Unitary authority : Powys
NGR : SO24576080
Site Type (preferred type first) : BRONZE AGE STONE SETTING
Status : scheduled monument

Summary :
Four poster stone setting. Rectangular setting 4m by 3m. Stones 1. 2m to 1. 9m high. Three probable cup marks on most sw stone.

Description :
Four poster stone setting. Rectangular setting 4m by 3m. Stones 1. 2m to 1. 9m high. Three probable cup marks on most sw stone.

4 stones set in a circle with their flat surfaces facing the middle. There is a gap between 2 of the stones, suggesting that there may originally have been a fifth boulder. Folklore suggests that the font in the nearby Old Radnor Church (PRN 16929) may once have filled this gap (Gregory, D, 1994, 32).

Four large monoliths standing on the circumference of a rude circle, conjectured to have formed supports of a cromlech, but area is too great for a covering stone. Stones are of glacial origin, probably deposited fortuitously in their present position. A similar stone, possibly not a member of the group, which may have rested on hill to south, was utilised for the church font at Old Radnor. Dimensions of stones given as in Anon 1911 Arch Camb. SW stone 5ft high, 13 ft 9in circumference. SE stone 4ft 10 in high, 12ft 3in circumference. NW stone 6ft high, 15ft 3in circumference. NE stone 4ft high, 11ft circumference (RCAHM, 1913).

Livock 1939 suggests that the 4 stones were in or on a mound (Livock 1939).

Daniel 1950 believed stones were remains of either a burial circle (as Crawford 1925) or a group of standing stones (as Grimes 1936) (Daniel 1950).

SW stone has at least one small artificial cup mark on its weathered surface. Burl 1971 so far this is the only 4- poster circle south of Yorkshire (Dunn 1972).

4 stones form a rectangle 3m by 4m. SW stone has what appear to be 3 shallow cup marks on upper surface (OS 1974).

4 large standing stones sited in grassland. No markings on any of the stones. Stone 1 ( height 1.65m), stands 2.6m from stone 2 (height 1.8m). Stone 3 (height 1.25m) is 3,7m from stone 2. Stone 4 (height 1.6m) is 1.8m from stone 3, and 2.4m from stone 2. Stones form roughly rectangular shape. Possibly a pit around stone 3 (Cadw 1986).

Gibson 1998 suggests that the removal of "3 or 4" stones from the monument mentioned in 1863 may have been removal of erratics, not part of the circle, since name "Four Stones" was already in use from 17th century. The regular spacing of the stones suggests that the monument is realatively complete (Gibson 1998).

The name Four Stones appears in a will of 1652 (Arch Camb 1911, 103-5).

The stones are aligned on the four cardinal points of the compass. NE stone may be recumbent. Shallow cup marks may be natural. SW stone measures 1.55m high, NW stone 1.92m high, NE stone 0.98m high and SE stone 0.92m high (CPAT 2000).

Only confirmed four poster in Wales (however, see PRN81215 for a second tentatively identified site) (Jones, Nigel W, 2004, pp160).

Sources :
Anon , 1911 , title unknown - Four Stones
Burl, A , 1971 , title unknown - Four Stones
Burl, A , 1977 , The Stone Circles of the British Isles
Burl, A , 1980 , title unknown - Four Stones
Burl, A , 2000 , The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany
Cadw , 1986 , Scheduling map - Rd004(POW)
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust , 2000 , Site visit record - PRN1072
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust , 2003 , CPAT Project Archive - 715
Crawford, O G S , 1925 , Long Barrows of the Cotswolds
Daniel, G E , 1950 , Prehistoric Chambered Tombs of England and Wales
Dunn, C J , 1972 , Four stones, Walton , Archaeology in Wales : 12 : 20
Gibson, A , 1997 , Survey in the Walton Basin [Radnor Valley] Powys , The Transactions of the Radnorshire Society : 67 : 20-62
Gibson, A , 2000 , The Walton Basin, Radnor, Powys: explorations in a Neolithic Landscape
Gibson, A., and others , 1999 , The Walton Basin, Powys, Wales. Survey at the Hindwell Neolithic Enclosure
Gregory, D., 1994 , Radnorshire: A Historical Guide
Grimes, W F , 1936 , Megalithic Survey of South Wales
Jones, N. W , 2013 , Walton Basin Project 2012-13: Archaeological Conservation in Rural Environments (ACRE) ( © Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust)
Jones, Nigel W , 2004 , Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Monuments in Radnorshire , The Transactions of the Radnorshire Society : 74 : 151-168
Livock, G E , 1939 , Annotated record map
Ordnance Survey , 1964 , OS map
Ordnance Survey , 1974 , OS record card SO26SW 3
Ordnance Survey , 1980 , OS record card SO26SW 3
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales , 1913 , Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouth III - County of Radnor
Shropshire Star , 1996 , title unknown - Radnorshire photo article
Spicer, R., D., 1979 , Stone Circles of Wales Powys Extract
Thom, A , 1967 , title unknown - Four Stones
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1974 , Schedule of Ancient Monuments in Wales
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1980 , Scheduling map - Rd004(POW)
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1981 , Schedule of Ancient Monuments in Wales

Events :

Related records

Compiled date : 31-12-1981


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Archaeological data, from the Historic Environment Record, supplied by The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © CPAT, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025). It is intended to be used for private research only and is not for use as part of commercial projects. If you wish to use this information for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. Use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of access to HER data published on CPAT's website. Please contact the HER if you have any further questions regarding this information. Please quote the Primary Reference Numbers (PRNs) in any correspondence.

March 28, 2025, 1:55 pm - File produced for Archwilio from CPAT's Regional HER.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, The Offices, Coed y Dinas, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RP
tel (01938) 553670, email her@cpat.org.uk, website www.cpat.org.uk

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