Occult London: Search for the Pagan Stone in Greenwich

Someone messaged me to ask if I knew of a site in Greenwich that was called the Pagan Stone. It was a place that was very significant to someone dear to them who had passed, and they wanted to locate it.

Although I'm reasonably familiar with Greenwich, I hadn't come across anywhere called the Pagan Stone. However, I can think of a few sites that might fit the description. 

A likely candidate is the stone fountain in Greenwich Park which is sometimes called the Motherstone Fountain or Mother Well. You can see it in a photo at the top (and it also appears on the cover of a book I've mentioned below). It was built in the 1860s to offer public drinking water, but some pagans believe the stone used might have been taken from an ancient megalithic monument. I'm not sure if there's any evidence to back this story up, but it does add mystery to the site. I know the fountain has been used for rituals to honour the Mother Goddess over the years. When I first saw it, in 2009, it was a beautiful place. The last time I was there the water was no longer running and it was a bit overgrown, but still had a lovely energy. I'm not sure if it's been restored more recently. 

There's also the site of a Romano-Celtic temple in Greenwich Park. I blogged about that in 2019. There's only a plaque there now, but I recall many years ago a stone in the ground marked the spot. It was surrounded by Victorian railings. The stone marker might possibly have been called the Pagan Stone by some, but it wasn't actually ancient or part of the original temple. The picture to the left shows what the area looked like in 2019, long after the railings were removed.

Anglo-Saxon pagan grave mounds in the park are another possibility. There aren't any obvious stones there that I know of, just grassy mounds. Here's a link to a blog post I wrote about them. I had a long discussion with friends who know Greenwich and its history well and one of them vaguely recalled the graves might have been called pagan stones by some groups. You can see a photo of the grassy mounds below right.

The most famous book about the myths and legends of Greenwich is Goddesses, Guardians and Groves by Jack Gale. He mentions a historic sunken trackway running between the graves up to a site that is now a covered reservoir. According to Jack, a psychic told him the track once led to a standing stone dedicated to Odin, called the Odin Stone. If it ever existed it vanished centuries ago, but the grassland encircled by trees on top of the reservoir could possibly be a place pagans might still honour the Norse god. 

Jack's book also mentions a public space called The Point, on Blackheath Hill. A road running around it is called Maidenstone Hill, which might have related to a stone that once stood on the green. Again, if there was ever a sacred stone there, it vanished centuries ago. A friend of mine also pointed out to me the Boundary Stone on Blackheath Hill, not far from The Point. It dates to the early 19th century and is listed. You can find a link to more about that here.

 A few other friends said that the name "Pagan Stone" seemed vaguely familiar, but they couldn't recall exactly what book they had read it in or who they had heard mention it. If you know anything about a site in or near Greenwich called the Pagan Stone, please leave a comment. It would also be great if you know of a book, website or TV programme it's mentioned in.

Other previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/06/gods-goddesses-of-london-painted-ceiling.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/07/occult-london-london-stone-myths-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/12/pagan-eye-londons-stone-circle-at.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/03/occult-london-maze-and-labyrinths-in.html

London Necropolis: Pagan Anglo-Saxon Barrow Graves

Greenwich Park, is the site of an Anglo-Saxon barrow cemetery. It isn't well signposted and there isn't a lot to see except some vague mounds in the ground and rough grass. I *think* I found the right spot and took the photo above when I was in the park in the summer, when I also photographed the site of a Romano-Celtic temple there.

This is one of the largest Anglo-Saxon barrow cemeteries in England and dates back to the 6th or 7th century. It is almost certainly pagan. The area was excavated in the 18th century, when beads, wool, hair, shields and swords were found. These grave goods suggest that those who were buried there were pagan, not Christian. You can find out more on the Greenwich Parks website.

Before Samhain - or Halloween - for the past few years I've been posting photos of London's burial grounds in a series I've called London Necropolis - a Necropolis being a city of the dead. You can see links to some of those posts below.

Links and previous related posts
https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/greenwich-park/things-to-see-and-do/ancient-greenwich/anglo-saxon-barrow-cemetery
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/10/london-necropolis-tower-hamlets.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/10/london-necropolis-highgate-cemetery.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/10/london-necropolis-temple-church.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/10/london-necropolis-cafe-in-crypt.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/08/london-gods-goddesses-diana-of.html

London Gods & Goddesses: Diana of Greenwich Park

One of the best known tales of London Lore is that St Paul's Cathedral was supposedly built on top of an ancient temple to the goddess Diana. Although there is no archaeological evidence to back that up, many people like to believe the site - on the the highest point in the City of London - is sacred to the virgin huntress who cares for women, children and wild places.

Whatever the truth of that might be, Diana is still a London goddess. Archaeologists have excavated the remains of a Romano-Celtic temple in Greenwich Park that is associated with her. In a 1902 dig, one of the finds was part of a statue thought to represent Diana. An ivory figurine of a woman holding up a shield was also found (see picture right). That is now thought to represent Victory, but I keep seeing the modern Wonder Woman, who is also called Diana, in it.

Later excavations found tiles with inscriptions to the god Jupiter and to the spirits of Roman emperors, so it wasn't exclusively a temple to Diana. Nevertheless, it does seem likely that she was honoured there.

There isn't much left to indicate where the Greenwich temple was except a board with details of the digs and discoveries. You can see it in the photo at the top. However, when I was in the park earlier this week, I noticed the hot summer had scorched the grass browner in outlines that might show the location of old walls below the ground. I do recommend popping along and having a look before the grass gets green again.

Another Royal Park - Hyde Park - has a statue of Diana, called The Huntress Fountain, in the Rose Garden. It dates from 1906 and was made by Countess Feodora Gleichen, who was the first woman member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

This year, one of my resolutions was to blog about London's gods and goddesses. Below are links to several of my earlier posts, and some other links:

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/01/looking-back-at-gods-and-goddesses-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/02/walking-in-search-of-hidden-goddesses.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/03/london-goddesses-isis-her-temple-by.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/05/goddesses-of-london-trivia-and-cloacina.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/06/gods-goddesses-of-london-painted-ceiling.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/goddesses-of-greenwich.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/03/review-secret-lore-of-london.html

Gods & Goddesses of London: The Painted Ceiling

Eighteenth century art was full of the Gods and Goddesses of ancient Rome, and one of the finest examples is the Painted Ceiling at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. It might seem odd that a Christian country would use Pagan imagery, but harking back to Classical times was fashionable during the Enlightenment.

Artist Sir James Thornhill, who painted the hall between 1707 and 1726, depicted about 200 figures on the walls and ceilings. They are a mixture of allegorical, mythological, historical and contemporary characters. Deities, signs of the zodiac, depictions of the four winds and other mythological beings are used to symbolise natural forces and abstract concepts. They are intended to tell a story of political change and human achievements. Any religious message was the triumph of Protestantism over Catholicism, rather than anything intentionally Pagan.

Just a few of the Pagan Gods and Goddesses to look out for on the walls and ceiling are Apollo, Athena, Bacchus, Demeter, Iris, Juno and Neptune. James Thornhill created a tour guide called An Explanation of the Painting. In it, he explains what the historical and mythological figures mean. You can buy facsimiles of his original guide at the ORNC or online. Modern visitors can also make use of an audioguide that explains the history of the Painted Hall and highlights various characters on the ceiling and what they represent.

Even if eighteenth century England wasn't a Pagan country, the fashion for classical mythology was influential in the start of the Pagan Revival. Even today, many atheist or agnostic Pagans regard deities as symbols and archetypes rather than living entities - not too different from the way some of our ancestors would have done in the 1700s.

The Painted Hall reopened in March this year, following a conservation project. I popped in to have a look at it yesterday, before a tutorial at the university. I took advantage of a scheme on the first Wednesday of each month when you can get in for free if you show a Lotto ticket for the day, or you can pay a donation of as much as you choose. The normal ticket price is £12 for adults and £8.50 for concessions. My Lotto ticket didn't have any winning numbers, but getting to see the Painted Ceiling for £2 was enough of a win for me.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/the-bad-witch-goes-back-to-school.html
https://www.ornc.org/about-the-painted-hall-project
http://hidden-london.com/the-guide/painted-hall/
https://www.ornc.org/blog/searching-for-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow
https://www.theglobetrotter.co.uk/2010/04/painted-hall-and-chapel-in-old-royal.html

Yule Ghost Tale: Things That Go Bump in the Night

I do love a Christmas Eve ghost story, so here's a tale of something spooky that I've personally experienced.

As you know if you read my blog regularly, this autumn I started doing an MA course at the University of Greenwich, which is in the buildings of the Old Royal Naval College.

The college, as you might expect from buildings that are hundreds of years old, has quite a few tales of ghostly goings on. One of them relates to a room where go for a seminar one afternoon a week.

The room always felt a little odd to me. Right at the start of term I blogged that the staircase leading to it was a bit creepy. Several times during seminars everyone there has heard strange thumping sounds. The room often seems stifling and claustrophobic, even with the windows open. Once the door swung open for no obvious reason at all.

Yes, of course, there's almost certainly a rational explanation for all of those things. But, doing a bit of research, I also learnt that the room is supposedly haunted.

Apparently what are now the upper classrooms in Queen Mary Court were once dormitories for naval college pensioners - and the one that is my classroom was once the scene of a murder. For no reason that could be determined, one of the retired seamen brutally killed a fellow pensioner in his bed one night.

From time to time since then, people have reported hearing banging and thumping sounds that are, perhaps, the sounds of the struggles between the murderer and his victim somehow repeating again and again over the years. I even asked one of security staff if he had witnessed anything ghostly. He said he hadn't actually seen anything, but like me he had heard strange sounds in the building. He said he had heard the bumps mostly late at night when he was supposedly the only one there.

I'm glad my seminar is early in the afternoon, before it gets dark even in the depths of winter. I don't think I'd like to be on my own there late at night.

The photo shows a corner of the Old Royal Naval College at night.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/uni-days-winding-stairs-maze-like.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/12/yule-ghost-tale-spectral-nazi-of-ripe.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/12/yule-ghost-tale-royal-institution.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/12/yule-ghost-tales-most-haunted-house-in.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/11/occult-london-hawksmoors-coffin-shaped.html

Occult London: Hawksmoor's Coffin-Shaped Window

Does this window look like a coffin to you?

It was pointed out to me on the night of Halloween as part of a tour of the grim and ghostly parts of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. According to the tour guide, this window was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor - an architect known for peculiar designs - to remind naval pensioners of their mortality. Not sure if it is just an urban legend, but it sounds as though it ought to be true.

I did a tiny bit of research and found an earlier blog post on the subject by the Greenwich Phantom: http://www.thegreenwichphantom.co.uk/2012/10/through-the-coffin-shaped-window/

The Old Royal Naval College is currently home to the University of Greenwich, where I am studying an MA in English literature. I'll be blogging more about some of the strange things to be found around the campus.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/the-bad-witch-goes-back-to-school.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/09/uni-days-winding-stairs-maze-like.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/haunted-city-how-folklore-urban-legends.html
http://www.thegreenwichphantom.co.uk/2012/10/through-the-coffin-shaped-window/
https://www.ornc.org/