A Sacrificial stone in the Coombes Valley?

The following article is part fact and part conjecture as the events took place so long ago. It is believed that the Anglo Saxon invaders arrived in the Staffordshire Moorlands around the mid to late 6th century after having fought their way westward reaching Leek and the surrounding area which became a part of Mercia, which basically consisted of various smaller Saxon tribes. One of these tribes is known to have have been living to the north of Leek and they were known as the Pecsietna. It is this tribe which I believe may have attacked two British army camps which would have overlooked the Coombes valley and was situated where Sharpcliffe Hall now stands.

Back then the Coombes valley would have looked very different to how it looks today. The valley at present is heavily wooded, however this woodland is semi ancient meaning the oldest trees are no more than four hundred years old. I think that we can safely assume that the topography of the area would have looked a lot different nearly 1500 years ago, for a start there would have been little in the way of cover for a large group of soldiers to mount an attack. An answer to this question may be found in the rare book “The Tale of Ipstones” where it goes on to say, “Amongst other things earthworks were found running into the hollow from the western side, so that bands of men could glide up and down without being seen. It was concluded that a fierce struggle had taken place there when the Saxons first got into England. After a bloody struggle in those days, a place was often left desolate and blasted with a bad name. The bad name “Hell Hole” still goes on but some old records have lately come to hand which show that our conclusions then were true, and that the solitude lasted about 500 years. For in the 21st year of Edward 1, 1293 a trial took place as to whether this tract should pay taxes”.

I believe that the Pecsietna would have been aware of the British encampments and the threat that they posed, as would the British encampment have been aware of the Pecsietna and the threat of an attack by them. For this reason they would have made sure that there were lookouts posted accordingly. Whether the Pecsietna approached from the West as stated in “The Tale of Ipstones”, or they approached the valley from the Ladymeadows and Bottomhouse direction remains uncertain, however, I believe that the Saxon invaders were spotted by the British, the alarm was raised and heavy fighting ensued on Sharpcliffe Ridge which was renamed in years to come, becoming known as Ghost Ridge because of the amount of casualties which occurred here.

I believe that not having been caught off guard the British were able to drive the Saxon invaders back down into the valley to a place which today is called Clough Meadow, however back then it would come to be known as “The Hell Hole”, presumably from the massacre which took place at this spot. I don’t believe all the Saxon soldiers were killed, I believe a number of them were taken prisoner. Whether straight away or at a later date I am not sure, they would have been taken to the southern end of the valley where according to legend these prisoners would have been sacrificed on a rock located in the Coombes brook. The reason I know that the British were victorious was they would have been aware of the significance of this rock whereas the Saxons probably wouldn’t have been. This rock has been purposefully placed at this location on an energy line or Ley line, and may have been used prior to this battle as a sacrificial stone. This stone would have been important in the past and locals would have been aware of its purpose, however, until I can examine the stone closely and look for evidence for the use that it has been used for it still remains somewhat of a mystery. Whether the Saxon prisoners were killed out of vengeance for the deaths of the British soldiers is not known or perhaps there is a more sinister reason.

Fast forward around a thousand years later and another possible sacrifice may have taken place here when Johannes Horsley possibly drugged his brother, John Horsley, and transported him over a mile to the same spot in 1695 for history to repeat itself, the rock becoming known as the Horsley Stone. I discovered John’s grave in St Edwards churchyard in nearby Leek, which means his body must have been recovered and at least he can rest in peace, unless you believe like a lot of people, that his spirit entered a bird, but that’s another story entirely!

The Horsley Stone. photo by Gary Tacagni.