Nine Maidens Downs facts for kids
Nine Maidens Downs is a wide, open area of moorland in Cornwall, England. It's located southwest of a village called Four Lanes.
Ancient Stone Circles
The name 'Nine Maidens' comes from an old story. People used to believe that the stones found here were once young women who were turned to stone because they danced on a Sunday!
These stones are part of two ancient stone circles from the Bronze Age, a time long, long ago when people first started using bronze. The circles stood about 18 meters (60 feet) apart on the downs.
The south-east circle was originally about 16 meters (52 feet) wide and had 14 or 15 stones. Today, about half of this circle remains. You can see five stones forming a semicircle, with four of them standing freely. One stone is built into a Cornish hedge in its original spot.
The north-west circle was even bigger, about 21 meters (69 feet) wide. Only two of its stones are still visible in the hedge, but they might not be in their original places. Back in the 1760s, a person named William Borlase noted that 10 stones from this circle were still there.
Hangman's Barrow
About half a mile west of the stone circles, on a high ridge, you'll find a huge Bronze Age cairn called Hangman's Barrow. A cairn is a large pile of stones, often built as a burial mound.
This cairn is made entirely of stone and is quite big! It's about 3 meters (10 feet) tall and 20 meters (65 feet) wide. Sadly, people in the past dug into the center, probably looking for treasures. Because of this, we don't know what was originally buried inside.
River Cober
Nine Maidens Downs is also where the River Cober begins! This river flows past the town of Helston and eventually reaches Loe Pool, which is the biggest natural lake in Cornwall. The river starts between Hangman's Barrow to the west and the Nine Maidens stone circles to the east.
Nine Maidens School
A school called Nine Maidens Board School was built here in 1878. It was located at the northern part of the downs.
