The Hemlock Stone, Nottingham - Rock and Mineral Displays on Waymarking.com

The stone and the hills are made up of red sandstone which was deposited in the early Triassic period over 200 million years ago.
The upper part of the Hemlock Stone is heavily impregnated with barium sulphate or barytes, a mineral that is resistant to weathering, which forms a protective cap above the pillar of softer rock below.


Over many millennia, erosion of the softer sandstone surrounding the pillar by water, ice and wind has shaped the strange form of the Hemlock Stone that we see today.

Many theories exist as to how the Stone got its name but it is thought by many to have been the site of activity by the Druids, the priesthood of the Celts. Myths and legends concerning the Stone abound, many of which formed part of a specially commissioned play performed in the walled garden area in 2001. A huge bonfire was lit on top of the Stone, one of the official beacons the length and breadth of the country, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.

The local legend tells how a very pious monk in Lenton Priory who found he could not sleep one night, decided that the Devil must be near.
He began to pray as hard as he could and this fervent praying woke the Devil who was asleep on Stony Clouds near Sandiacre. (Another version suggests Castleton in the Peak District.) In his anger for being woken, the Devil flung a mass of rock, aiming at the Priory, hoping to smash it and the monk to pieces. But his aim fell short and the stone settled on the side of Stapleford Hill, never to move again.

Type of Display: Geological

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