Sidney Oldall Addy

“ And so Landin Stone, though not creeled for a boundary stone, marked a boundary—namely the boundary between the liberties of Loxley, Wadsley, and Owlerton. It appears to have been usual for the place of assembly to be upon a boundary, for Kemble says "on the summit of a range of hills, on the watershed from which the fertilizing streams descended, at the point where the boundaries of two or three communities touched one another, was the proper place for the common periodical assemblage of the freemen." ”

“ Now the road from Ecclesfield to Oughtibridge passes the northern end of the steep ridge called Birley Edge, and at this northern end, about seven yards from the road, is a stone pedestal surmounted by a stone pillar. This erection is now without name, but its position agrees exactly with the description given above, and it is undoubtedly the Burleystone mentioned in 1161. Birley Edge is a rough and steep ridge of high ground which has only been cleared of late years, being hardly yet cultivated. ”

“ The stone pillar which fits into the pedestal is four feet six inches in height, and it measures one foot nine inches by one foot in breadth. The present pillar appears to have been chipped during recent years, and viewed from one side it has a somewhat modern appearance, resembling that of an ordinary stone gate-post. It may have been eredted in substitution for the original pillar, but the pedestal on which it stands has an appearance of great age. A farmer who lives near mentions a tradition that "Druids came and worshipped" at this stone. ”