do THE AGQLESTONE. 



It has been considered a Druid Altar, and consequently sup- 

 posed, and in fact believed, to have been brought from a distance 

 and placed upon this mound, which by some has been supposed 

 to be artificial. And much evidence has been advanced, favour- 

 ing this supposition, with regard to the power which the ancient 

 Britons possessed of removing vast and weighty masses of rook 

 to considerable distances from their native localities. Such, 

 however, does not appear to be the fact in this instance. The 

 Agglestone undoubtedly rests, at the present day, in its primi- 

 tive position, upon the hillock of which it once formed a part; 

 the surrounding earth having been removed by design, or the 

 agency of the weather. Upon examination it is found to be 

 stratified, its upper portion highly indurated, whilst the lower is, 

 comparatively speaking, very soft. Now, allowing that the 

 ancient Britons possessed the skill and a poAver capable of raising 

 and transporting this immense weight, it nevertheless, appears 

 evident, from the constitution of the rock, that in making the 

 attempt, the softer portion would be broken or split away from 

 the hard. 



But this argument does not militate against the belief that this 

 stone was originally an heathen Altar, made use of by the Druids 

 for sacrificial purposes. In fact there is much evidence in favor 

 of its having been so. For instance, its name, which Hutchins 

 derives from the Saxon word Halig, or Haelig, hohj^ and Stan, a 

 stone. It must therefore be considered as connected with some 

 object of veneration at the Saxon period. But there is another 

 word of greater antiquity obtained from the language of a people 

 who have left many traces of their occupation in this neighbour- 

 hood: I refer to the Celtic word Eglwys,* (Aglus,) a church, 

 which is still retained in the modern Welsh. I conceive that 

 the Greek word ecclesia, whence we may obtain JEccleston, to be 

 derived from the same origin. 



It is by no means necessary to the establishment of its Druidi* 

 cal sanctity, that it should have evidently been brought from 

 elsewhere, and placed in its present position by human agency. 

 There are single stones scattered over many parts of Britain, 



I Many Parishes in Wales are called "Eglwys Bach," "Eglwys 

 Brewis," &c., as in England, they are called "Church Knowle," 

 "Church Stanton," &c. 



