Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Crook Knott
Height: 256m / 840ft • Prominence: 107m / 351ft • Summit : small rock ridge 2m W of cairn • Trip reports (hill-bagging)
Crook Hall, Crook, Cumbria. Piscina or spyhole?
An intriguing stone found within recycled material from a retaining wall. The schist like stone is local to the area, indeed a natural outcrop occurs next to the house. My first thoughts was that it is the top stone from a rotary hand quern, but there is no indication of a working surface on either side, plus no sign of a slot or hole for a handle. The central perforated star feature is rather nice, but the cutting of the shallow basin is very crude, so either an unfinished piece, or very much an everday object. A piscina has been suggested, but the shallow nature of the piece, the crudeness and the lack of any adhereing mortar rather rules that out. A drain cover, or possibly a ventilation hole might be more likely. But use as a spyhole set vertical in a wall to allow the lord of the house to keep watch over his family and guests might be another possibility. Thanks go to the owners of Crook Hall for permission to add this to my album, and to my wife for taking the photo.
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53011764767
Crook Hall, Crook near Kendal, Cumbria. Piscina or spyhole?
This crudely cut local stone appears at first glance to be a former rotary hand quern, but the central hollow and star shaped hole suggests otherwise. Found within salvaged stone from buildings on the site, various identifications have been made, one of which was the base of a piscina, the holy water basin or bowl found in a church that was used by the priest to wash his hands along with the sacred implements used in the mass. This theory, however, doesn't quite seem right in this case as there is no evidence for the stone being deeper to hold the holy water, and the hole is just too big and decorative; besides, the outlet hole is usually located towards the rear of the basin allowing the water to seep into the very fabric of the wall of the church. If this was a piscina, the likely source would be the demolished church of St. Catherine across the fields. As yet I'm uncertain as to it's original purpose. My best bet is that its come from the earlier hall house on the site, perhaps a peel tower that is said to have stood here. Set within a wall, upright, as seen here, such a stone would provide a crude form of spyhole, used by the lord of the house when keeping an eye on his household from his private chamber. The star shape is very unusual, simple circular holes, or ornate cusped ones are more common. My wife took the picture, my camera having decided to give trouble!
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53012732835
High House farm, Crook, Cumbria.
My wife's shot taken from the window of our bedroom whilst staying at Crook Hall, a little outside of Crook. The gentle landscape here is dotted with such farms, small walled fields and stone outcrops.
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53011764762
Crook Hall, Crook, Cumbria. View to High House farm.
The evening light seen from our bedroom window was quite spectacular, highlighting the small stone walled fields and the stone outcrop alongside the house. It's believed the area of ground, in shadow seen here, is the location of an earlier peel tower on the site.
25-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53012732935
OS Map
This is OS mapping. In some areas, OpenStreetMap shows more footpaths
Spatial NI has online OSNI mapping. Click "Basemap Gallery" (4 squares icon at the top).
Now would be a good time for a cup of tea.
GPX Editor
Record map clicks
Reload map
Photos
Please tag your photos and upload them to the British and Irish Mountains group on Flickr
The other photos have been geo-tagged as on or around the summit. For less busy mountains, it can be a little hit and miss.
Crook Hall, Crook, Cumbria. Piscina or spyhole?
An intriguing stone found within recycled material from a retaining wall. The schist like stone is local to the area, indeed a natural outcrop occurs next to the house. My first thoughts was that it is the top stone from a rotary hand quern, but there is no indication of a working surface on either side, plus no sign of a slot or hole for a handle. The central perforated star feature is rather nice, but the cutting of the shallow basin is very crude, so either an unfinished piece, or very much an everday object. A piscina has been suggested, but the shallow nature of the piece, the crudeness and the lack of any adhereing mortar rather rules that out. A drain cover, or possibly a ventilation hole might be more likely. But use as a spyhole set vertical in a wall to allow the lord of the house to keep watch over his family and guests might be another possibility. Thanks go to the owners of Crook Hall for permission to add this to my album, and to my wife for taking the photo.
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53011764767
Crook Hall, Crook near Kendal, Cumbria. Piscina or spyhole?
This crudely cut local stone appears at first glance to be a former rotary hand quern, but the central hollow and star shaped hole suggests otherwise. Found within salvaged stone from buildings on the site, various identifications have been made, one of which was the base of a piscina, the holy water basin or bowl found in a church that was used by the priest to wash his hands along with the sacred implements used in the mass. This theory, however, doesn't quite seem right in this case as there is no evidence for the stone being deeper to hold the holy water, and the hole is just too big and decorative; besides, the outlet hole is usually located towards the rear of the basin allowing the water to seep into the very fabric of the wall of the church. If this was a piscina, the likely source would be the demolished church of St. Catherine across the fields. As yet I'm uncertain as to it's original purpose. My best bet is that its come from the earlier hall house on the site, perhaps a peel tower that is said to have stood here. Set within a wall, upright, as seen here, such a stone would provide a crude form of spyhole, used by the lord of the house when keeping an eye on his household from his private chamber. The star shape is very unusual, simple circular holes, or ornate cusped ones are more common. My wife took the picture, my camera having decided to give trouble!
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53012732835
High House farm, Crook, Cumbria.
My wife's shot taken from the window of our bedroom whilst staying at Crook Hall, a little outside of Crook. The gentle landscape here is dotted with such farms, small walled fields and stone outcrops.
29-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53011764762
Crook Hall, Crook, Cumbria. View to High House farm.
The evening light seen from our bedroom window was quite spectacular, highlighting the small stone walled fields and the stone outcrop alongside the house. It's believed the area of ground, in shadow seen here, is the location of an earlier peel tower on the site.
25-Jun-23 • hercon2000uk. • flickr
53012732935
Videos
None found
Notes
- Data: Database of British and Irish Hills v18.2
- Maps: We use OS mapping for England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Sadly, Channel Islands, Northern (OSNI) and Southern Ireland (OSI) mapping isn't available online, so we use Openstreetmap.