Hawk Stone

The Hawk Stone is a Neolithic standing stone on Spelsbury Down, nine-tenths of a kilometre west of Spelsburydown Farm. It rises just over two and a half metres from the grassland and is made of oolitic limestone. The stone tapers from a base about a metre wide to a narrower top. A shallow hollow has been worn into its upper face by people rubbing it for luck over many years. Some once thought it might have formed part of a burial chamber, though little proof remains. The stone’s name may come from its hawk-like shape or from an old word meaning ‘hoar’, simply marking its great age. Local stories say the cleft at the top was made by the chains of witches tied to the stone and burned there long ago. Nearby Diddly Squat Farm belongs to broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, whose fields grow barley for a lager named after the stone. Visitors reach the stone along a farm track that passes Clarkson’s fields. The standing stone stands alone on the open downland, with wide views across the Oxfordshire countryside. The hollow in its top is still visible, though now smoothed by generations of hands. The barley fields around it supply grain for Hawkstone Lager, made by a local brewery. The stone itself remains a quiet landmark, its legends and shape unchanged by time.