It is thought that the Dodman would have used hills to make alignments and for sighting purposes when laying out straight lines ( Ley lines?), these would usually be the shortest route between two fixed points usually incorporating natural and man made features along the alignment, such as churches, burial mounds and standing stones etc. It is thought that the hilltops from which these alignments were made acquired the name “Tot” or “Toot”, and from these names we are able to find evidence of the Dodmans influence on the landscape.

In certain parts of the country snails acquired the name “Doddies” many generations ago, this would have been due to the two antenna which can be found on the snails head and which would resemble the two sighting rods that the Dodman would have used while making his alignments on the landscape. The word “Toot” or “Tot” is thought to denote a “hill of observation”, and it is said to have been derived from the Old English word “Totian” which means to “peep”, “Look out” or “Spy”.

While undertaking research into the Dodman I came across a hill with the name “Toot hill” in the Macclesfield forest in the county of Cheshire, U.K. This would have been a suitable hill for the Dodman to have used, hence its name. Upon investigating in more depth I was able to find an alignment line which can be traced from “Toot hill”

This photo was taken from the earthworks which can be found on the top of Toot Hill in the Macclesfield forest where the Dodman would have made his alignments from. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

The alignment starts from this point on “Toot Hill” and then passes through the nearby hill known as “Shutlingslow” which apart from being known as the Cheshire Matterhorn has been used in the past as a burial mound.

The alignment can be traced running through the nearby hill known as Shutlingslow which can be seen in the distance shrouded in cloud. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

From Shutlingslow the alignment can be traced to a natural chasm called Ludchurch on the far side of the rocky escarpment known as the “Roaches”, this chasm has many legends attached to it and can be found in the ancient Backforest

Ludchurch is a natural chasm where the alignment passes through. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

From this point the alignment runs through “Roche Grange” which can be found on the opposite side of the “Roaches” in the “Land of the Rush” a place where a Demonic wind is said to blow.

Roche Grange, another location on the landscape which the alignment runs through. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

From Roche Grange the alignment can be traced running through the small village of Bradnop on the other side of the town of Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Bradnop has an association with the mysterious “Phantom Black Dog” which has been seen guarding the grave site of a Jacobite soldier which can be found behind Oxhaye farm, the alignment runs close to the strange “Egg Well” another place where the phantom dog has been seen.

Behind Oxhaye farm can be found the burial site of a Jacobite soldier which has been seen on occasion being guarded by a Phantom Black Dog. The alignment can be traced running through this village. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

 I have traced the alignment a bit further, it seems to end close to the Coombes Valley which seems to have a great deal of strange things occurring here which I have written about and posted among my other work. Whether or not the alignment continues past this point I am not sure as my map does not cover a larger area. I have found the alignment running through a place known as Rough Stone Hole in the Coombes Valley which is very close to Spirit Hole Woods which I have written about, the alignment crosses the Coombes Brook and where it crosses I found a strange circle formed out of foam.

The strange foam circle I found in the Coombes Brook close to the end of the alignment. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

Gawtons Well. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

There is also evidence of a building having stood at one time at this spot, perhaps it was a hermitage occupied by Monks attracted to the curative waters of its sacred well. It is well worth a visit to this special spot as there is still an air of tranquility which pervades this unusual place.

Another strange feature which can be found in Knypersley park is the Gawton stone which can be found close to Gawtons well. It is described as a Dolmen or Megalithic stone monument and would have been known as a Druids Cromlech in Victorian times. This Dolmen is known as the Gawton Stone and in the past has been used as a burial chamber, and like the Bawdstone on the rocky escarpment known as the Roaches it is said to have the power to heal. It is formed by three upright stones with a huge stone resting upon these. During the seventeenth century according to local tradition a man from Knypersley hall by the name of Gawton was suffering from the plague and was cured by bathing in the nearby healing waters of Gawtons well, before that he had been living as a hermit beneath this stone and that is how it acquired its name.

The Gawton stone. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

This is me next to the Bawdstone. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

During the Spring Solstice the Bawdstone is said to be aligned with another curious stone nearby on Ramshaw Rocks, called the Serpent Stone it resembles the head of a serpent emerging from the earth.

The Serpent Stone on Ramshaw Rocks. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

The name Bawdstone is thought to be derived from the Welsh word “bawd”, meaning table, the three stones which support it are thought to be legs (table legs?). The healing power the stone is said to possess seems to have cured an injury which I had suffered with for about two and a half years, after touching the stone the pain disappeared within two days and has not come back since!

The photograph above shows the devastating effect that a fire which raged out of control in April of 2003 had on the surrounding vegetation growing on the slopes of Hen Cloud. It was to be some years before the vegetation and wildlife recovered. Photo By Gary Tacagni. 

A spiritually gifted and pyschic friend of mine accompanied me on a visit to the Bawdstone, she told me that the stone still contains power, perhaps this is due to the high quartz content which is contained in the rock and also the fact that the stone has been placed on a very strong Ley-line.

In the past the Bawdstone has been described as having evil connotations, this would have been because the healing attributed to it was being done in a non Christian way, to overcome this the stone had used to be whitewashed, this was seen as symbolic, the white colour being seen as good overcoming evil.

Another view of the Bawdstone. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

The people of the nearby town of Leek and the surrounding area, up until the start of the Second World War would bring the sick people to the stone and make them crawl underneath it and come up the other side of it, this was said to “knock the Devil from their backs”. This custom of crawling under the stone was a relatively new custom, and should not be confused with the healing properties that the stone contains, besides you would have to be quite an accomplished Limbo dancer to crawl underneath as it is a tight squeeze.

The Bawdstone seems to have been carefully placed at this location for a purpose, who by we cannot know for sure, but it seems to have been used for healing purposes for possibly thousands of years, whatever forces this strange stone may have, there will always be an aura of mystery attached to it.

Circle within a circle on the roaches. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

The surrounding area has been carved to form a platform on the edge of this rocky ridge. Expert opinion suggests that it was not carved with modern tools and was probably done using a medieval stone pick, many suggestions have been made regarding its use but so far no one knows for certain what its true purpose was.

Probably the best suggestion so far was that it was a base which held a phallic fertility shaft similar to Cluelow Cross, whereby a woman wishing to conceive would walk round and round the shaft probably hugging it or in contact with it some how hoping she would become pregnant.

A fair amount of thought has gone into the carving of this circle as a drainage channel has been cut out of the rock, this would stop water collecting around the base of the shaft and damaging it when it would freeze in the winter. Photo by Gary Tacagni.

I have found the upper part of the shaft which I believe would have been sited here, it can be found below the Roaches on the roadside, some heathen has decided to use it as a gate post no less! I have been searching for the rest of the shaft on the lower slopes of the Roaches but as yet have not found it.

The upper part of the fertility shaft now used as a gatepost. Photo by Gary Tacagni.