The Chiding Stone in Chiddingstone, Kent, UK where it is rumoured that the stone was once used by ancient druids as an altar or judgement place
The Chiding, or Judgement Stone, is a natural rostrum Rumour has it the stone was once used by ancient druids as an altar or place where judgments were made. Some believe Britons used the stone as a place to conduct judicial affairs. It's also possible though the stone was used as a boundary marker by the later Saxons. In the Medieval times folklore has it that nagging wives, wrongdoers and witches were brought to the stone to be chided as punishment by an assembly of villagers. This is where the most recent name for the stone comes from and with it possibly the name of the village. It has also been wrongly described as a Druidical ritual site and more convincingly suggested as being a landmark used as a Saxon boundary marker. Chiddingstone means "the stone of Chidda's tribe" — Chidda presumably being a local Saxon leader.
Size: 4043px × 2690px
Location: Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, UK
Photo credit: © patrick nairne / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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