Description
A common oak (Quercus robur) guards over the four remaining stones of Bronze Age Nine Stones Close on Harthill Moor, Derbyshire. In the 19th century seven upright stones were noted during a survey by the antiquarian Thomas Bateman. The three missing stones were probably taken to use in building, although there is a possible remnant in a nearby drystone wall. The largest stone, coming in at nearly 2 metres, is the tallest standing stone in Derbyshire. The circle is part of Harthill Moor’s ritual landscape that developed in the shadow of Robin Hood’s Stride, a natural sandstone outcrop seen on the horizon a short distance to the south.
