Topic summary
Rufus Stone
Extracted from the Wikipedia article William II of England.
Rufus Stone
A stone known as the "Rufus Stone", close to the A31 near Minstead (grid referenceSU270124), is claimed to mark the spot where William fell. The claim that this is the location of his death appears to date from no earlier than a 17th century visit by Charles II to the forest. At the time the most popular account of William's death involved the fatal arrow deflecting off a tree, and Charles appears to have been shown a suitable tree. Letters in The Gentleman's Magazine report that the tree was cut down and burned during the 18th century. Later in that century the Rufus Stone was set up. Originally it was around 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall with a stone ball on top. King George III visited the stone in 1789, along with Queen Charlotte, and an inscription was added to the stone to commemorate the visit. It was protected with a cast iron cover in 1841 after repeated vandalism.