Details

The monument includes a standing stone situated on a level natural eminence at
the north edge of the North York Moors.
The standing stone is roughly cut into a rectangular shape which tapers
slightly towards the top and leans a little to the north west. It stands up to
1.5m high and measures up to 0.7m by 0.5m in section. The top of the stone is
weathered and has several deeply worn grooves. On the south face the letters
JS and ES have been inscribed.
The standing stone was originally one of two, but the second no longer
survives. It stands in an area which includes many prehistoric burial
monuments.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Standing stones are prehistoric ritual or ceremonial monuments with dates
ranging from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age for the few
excavated examples. They comprise single or paired upright orthostatic slabs,
ranging from under lm to over 6m high where still erect. They are often
conspicuously sited and close to other contemporary monument classes. They can
be accompanied by various features: many occur in or on the edge of round
barrows, and where excavated, associated subsurface features have included
stone cists, stone settings, and various pits and hollows filled in with earth
containing human bone, cremations, charcoal, flints, pots and pot sherds.
Similar deposits have been found in excavated sockets for standing stones,
which range considerably in depth. Several standing stones also bear cup and
ring marks. Standing stones may have functioned as markers for routeways,
territories, graves, or meeting points, but their accompanying features show
they also bore a ritual function and that they form one of several ritual
monument classes of their period that often contain a deposit of cremation and
domestic debris as an integral component. No national survey of standing
stones has been undertaken, and estimates range from 50 to 250 extant
examples, widely distributed throughout England but with concentrations in
Cornwall, the North Yorkshire Moors, Cumbria, Derbyshire and the Cotswolds.
Standing stones are important as nationally rare monuments, with a high
longevity and demonstrating the diversity of ritual practices in the Late
Neolithic and Bronze Age. Consequently all undisturbed standing stones and
those which represent the main range of types and locations would normally be
considered to be of national importance.

The standing stone on Brockrigg known as Wade's Stone, 420m south east of
Brockrigg Farm is in a good state of preservation. Archaeological deposits
within the stone socket and surrounding area will survive intact and will
provide important evidence for the construction of the monument and the nature
of the rituals associated with its use. The standing stone lies in an area
where there is a concentration of prehistoric burial monuments as well as
further standing stones. Associated groups of monuments such as this offer
scope for the study of developing ritual practice during the prehistoric
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)
Other
7402,

Source: Historic England