The Bowstones are a pair of Anglian cross shafts in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England. Situated beside the old ridgeway between

Disley Disley is a village and 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 population at the 2011 Census ...

and

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

, overlooking

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

, 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 b ...

, the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the hills of the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

, 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 and d ...

. The western shaft is 1.22 metres high and tapers from circumference of 1.25 m at the base to 0.86m at the top. The eastern shaft is 0.98m high and has a circumference of 1.27 m. 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, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Ches ...

.The Bowstones
megalithic.co.uk 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 heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

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 ...

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

Other sources

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References

Scheduled monuments in Cheshire {{Cheshire-geo-stub