St Breock Downs Monolith

St Breock Downs Monolith stands on the highest point of St Breock Downs in Cornwall. It is the largest prehistoric standing stone in the county, made from local Devonian shale with veins of feldspar running through it. The stone weighs about 16.5 tonnes and rises just over 3 metres above the ground. A low stone mound supports it, measuring roughly 10 metres across. The monolith dates from the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, between 2500 and 1500 BC. The stone fell in 1945 and was re-erected in 1956 after a small excavation. This revealed quartz pebbles around its base and two small hollows beneath them. Similar hollows at other sites have contained human bone or ashes. The monolith may once have been part of a wider ritual landscape that included another standing stone and barrows stretching up to 7 km to the west. Antiquarian records mention it as early as 1613, and it later served as a parish boundary marker. Today the site is managed by the Cornwall Heritage Trust for English Heritage. Visitors reach the summit of St Breock Downs to see the monolith standing against the open moorland. The surrounding area offers wide views across Cornwall’s countryside. The stone’s rough texture and size make it an impressive sight. Its position on the downs gives a sense of its ancient significance.