Harold's Stones

Harold's Stones lie near the village of Trellech or Treleck (depending on the sign) which is said to take it's name from the stones, Tri (Welsh for three) and Llech (meaning a flat stone). Why they are called Harold's stones is something of a mystery, local lengend says they were erected to commemorate a victory of the Saxon king Harold over the Britons. This is seems to be improbable as they predate Harold by at least 2,000 years. Another legend states that they mark the spot where three british chieftains fell in battle with Harold. Yet another legend states that Jack O Kent threw the stone there from a dozen miles away in a competition with the devil and thereafter the village became known as the City of the Stones. The reference to the village as a city may not be as strange as it sounds as in medieval times the village was the largest town in the county. There is another reference to the stones on an 17th Century sundial which is kept in the local church. This sundial predates any written mention of the stones and so is the oldest record of them. A representation of the stones is carved on the base of the sundial and the numbers 7, 10, 14 are written on them possibly indicating the height of the stones when the sundial was constructed. The local church is also worth a visit it contains an old preaching cross which is pre norman and may be saxon origin. There is also a stone slab on supports next to the cross which is said to be a christianised druidical altar. Whether this is true or not remains open to question.

A more modern claim to fame is that Trellech is the birthplace of the philosopher Bertrand Russel.

The stones themselves are 9, 12 and 15 ft high made from a local stone called pudding stone. They stand in a field just outside the village in a small field.

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