At St. Martha’s Church near Guildford, facing Newlands Corner are the remains of an earthwork maze close by the churchyard, and within this maze used to be held the country sports.[676] We shall consider some extraordinarily quaint mazes and Troy Towns in a subsequent chapter, but meanwhile it may here be noted that in the Scilly Islands (which the Greeks entitled Hesperides) is a monument thus described: “Close to the edge of the cliff is a curious enclosure called Troy Town, taking its name from the Troy of ancient history; the streets of ancient Troy were so constructed that an enemy, once within the gates, could not find his way out again. The enclosure has an outer circle of white pebbles placed on the turf, with an opening at one point, supposed to represent the walls and gate of Troy. Within this there are several rows of stones; the spaces between them represent the streets. It presents quite a maze, and but few who enter can find their way out again without crossing one of the boundary lines. It is not known when or by whom it was constructed, but it has from time to time been restored by the islanders.”[677]
This Troy Town is situated on Camperdizil Point; in the same neighbourhood is Carn Himbra Point, and Himbrian, Kymbrian, or Cambrian influences are seemingly much evident in this district, as doubtless they also were at Comberton[678] famous for its maze.
At the very centre, eye, or San Troy of St. Mary’s Island is situated Holy Vale, and here also are the place-names Maypole, Burrow, and Content. It has already been suggested that Bru or Burrow was originally pure Hu or pere Hu, Hu being, as will be remembered, the traditional Leader of the Kymbri into these islands, and the first of the Three National Pillars of Britain: the chief town of St. Mary’s is Hugh Town, and running through Holy Vale is what is described as a paved way (in wonderful preservation) known as the Old Roman Road, formerly supposed to be the main-way to Hugh Town. One may be allowed to question whether the Legions of Imperial Rome ever troubled to construct so fine a causeway in so insignificant an island; or if so, for what reason? The houses of Holy Vale are embowered in trees of larger growth than those elsewhere in the neighbourhood: they “complete a picture of great calm and repose,” and that this Holy Vale was anciently an abri is fairly self-evident apart from the interesting place-name Burrow, and the neighbouring Bur Point.
The Romans entitled the Scillies Sillinæ Insulæ: I have already suggested they were a seat of the Selli; we have met with Selene in connection with St. Levan’s, and it is not improbable that the deity of Sillinæ Insulæ was Selene, Helena, or Luna. The Silus stone from the ruined chapel of St. Helen’s at Helenium or Land’s End (Cape Cornwall) has been already noted: the most ancient building in all the Sillinæ Insulæ or the Scillies is the ruined chapel on St. Helen’s of which the northern aisle now measures 12 feet wide and 19 feet 6 inches long. As the Hellenes usually had ideas underlying all their measurements it is probable that the 19 feet 6 inches was primarily 19 feet, for nineteen was a highly mystic Hellenic number. Of the Hyperboreans Diodorus states: “They say, moreover, that Apollo once in nineteen years comes into the island in which space of time the stars perform their courses and return to the same points, and therefore the Greeks call the revolutions of nineteen years the Great Year”. Nineteen nuns tended the sacred fire of St. Bridget, and according to some observers the inmost circle of Stonehenge consisted of nineteen “Blue Stones”.[679] These nineteen Stone Hengles may be connoted with the nineteen ruined huts on the summit of Ingleborough in Yorkshire: the summit of Ingleborough is a plateau of about a mile in circuit and hereupon are “vestiges of an ancient British camp of about 15 acres inclosing traces of nineteen ancient horseshoe shaped huts”.[680]
As the word ingle, meaning fire, is not found until 1508 the authorities are unable to interpret Ingleborough as meaning Fire hill, although without doubt it served as a Beacon: the same etymological difficulty likewise confronts them at Ingleby Cross, Inglesham, numerous Ingletons, and at Ingestre. We have seen that Inglewood was known as Englysshe Wood;[681] in Somerset is Combe English, and in the Scillies is English Island Hill: 500 yards from this English Hill is a stone circle embracing an upright stone the end of which is 18 inches square.
Fig. 352.—Stonehenge Restored. From Our Ancient Monuments (Kains-Jackson).
Eighteen courtiers were assigned to the ange Oberon: the megalith Long Meg is described as a square unhewn freestone column 15 feet in circumference by 18 feet high, and there is no doubt that eighteen or twice nine possessed at one time some significance. I suspect that the double nine stood for the Twain, each of which was reckoned as nine or True: on the top of Hellingy Downs in the Scillies is a barrow covered with large stones nine feet long, and built upon a mound which is surrounded by inner and outer rows of stone.[682]
On Salakee Downs there is a monolith resting on a large flat rock, on three projections situated at a distance of eighteen inches from one another and each having a diameter of about 2 inches:[683] this is known as the Druid’s throne, and about 5 yards to the east are two more upright rocks of similar size and shape named the Twin Sisters.[684] The Twin Sisters of Biddenden, whose name was Preston, were associated with five pieces of ground known as the Bread and Cheese Lands, in which connection it is interesting to find that near English Island Hill is Chapel Brow, constituting the eastern point of a deep bay known by the curious name of Bread and Cheese Cove.[685] In connection with Biddenden we connoted Pope’s Hall and Bubhurst; it is thus noteworthy that near Bread and Cheese Cove is a Bab’s Carn, and a large sea cavern known as Pope’s Hole.