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During the Early Neolithic period, around the 4th millennium BCE, dense woodland covered Southeast England. The Early Neolithic people lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle herding cattle. Although leaving little evidence of settlements, they left behind substantial earth and stone monuments. Archaeologists use the term chambered long barrows to describe these historical monuments. They consist of earth tumuli (barrows) that cover a chamber constructed out of large stones called megaliths. A series of these barrows can be found along the river Medway. Some of these chambers have been excavated by archaeologists, revealing human remains and suggesting their use as tombs. However, other chambers, when excavated, have not. Because Kent has been and continues to be the gateway to the continent, it is unsurprising to discover that these barrows are more closely connected to European megaliths than to their British counterparts.¹

Kit’s Coty
Above the village of Aylesford lies Blue Bell Hill, which is on the North Downs. It makes up part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Pilgrims’ Way, the route from Winchester to Canterbury, skirts the hill although the track is much older than the 1100s and probably goes back to the Stone Age. Climbing up the hill where once was dense woodland, there are now vineyards. Above the vineyards stand Kit’s Coty, situated at a high point, some 350 feet above sea level in the landscape overlooking the Medway valley. It consists of three large standing stones capped by a capstone. These are generally known as sarsen stones but locally as “grey wethers”² because of their resemblance to a flock of sheep in a field (A wether is a castrated ram). Archaeologists believe these stones served as the entrance to a chamber that people buried within a large earthen mound, which farmers had ploughed away long ago. Originally around 80m long and 12-15m wide, the mound was flanked by ditches from where the earth and chalk were dug during construction. Evidence of the mound was still visible during the 18th century. Alongside, the stones runs an ancient pathway (fig 3), possibly a corpse road route and associated with the Pilgrims’ Way, now part of the North Downs Way.³

According to local folklore, the Saxon mercenaries Hengist and Horsa are said to be buried at the Kit’s Coty House and the close by White Horse Stone. As with all things of this antiquity, accounts differ. Although Gilda the Wise was the first to describe the arrival of Hengist and Horsa⁴ , it was the Venerable Bede⁵ who was the first to add detail about people and places. Hengist and Horsa landed in Britain at Ebbsfleet in 449 at the request of King Vortigern. In return for driving out the Picts and the Scots, they were granted the Isle of Thanet. Eventually, the deal soured, and in 455, the brothers and Vortigern fought a battle in Aylesford or Aegelesthrep, as it is known in Old English. Both the Anglo Saxons Chronicles⁶ and the Historia Brittonum⁷ document the battle. Horsa was killed, along with Vortigen’s brother Catigern. Lambarde⁸, who is credited with writing the first history of Kent, suggested that Catigern is buried at Kit’s Coty and this is where it gets its name: Catergern’s Coity House which translate as Catergern’s Stone House, “coits” being an old word for these types of stones. Geoffrey of Monmouth gives a much more colourful account, with Vortigen marrying Hengist’s daughter.⁹ There are various reasons that people give for the name. An endearing story is that a young (or old) shepherd called Kit used the stones as a shelter in hard weather, another that the name is derived from the Celtic ked coerd which translates as “Tomb in the Forest”.¹⁰

Evans² suggests that medieval people saw megaliths as the work of fairies, giants or other supernatural powers. According to local legend, if someone places a personal object on the capstone and walks around the stones three times, the object disappears. Unsurprisingly, people need to do this during a full moon.¹⁰,¹¹ Evans also notes similar stories where individuals use a personal object as a “sacrifice” either to acquire immunity from supernatural powers or to receive a reward. Menefee describes this idea of receiving a reward ¹¹ and indicates this is just one of a series of the circumambulation beliefs concerning megaliths. Becket ¹² recalls a story about circling a megalith seven times on a moonless night to receive soup from the devil. Other stories replace soup with milk or porridge. There are further circling the megalith legends that culminate in the conjuring a lady on a white horse or a treasure seeking ghost. Variations of the circling theme exist, such as the number of times the monument is circled, the direction clockwise or counterclockwise and whether the act is undertaken clothed or naked.¹¹,¹²

There are other tales associated with Kit’s Coty. Evans and others noted that if a person climbs onto the capstone (during a full moon) and places their hand inside the cavity of the stone, they will pull out ⁵ nails.² This resonates with similar supernatural craftsman stories associated with megaliths such as found at Wayland’s Smithy.¹³ Here, a traveller, on placing coins on the capstone, would have his horse shod by an invisible blacksmith.

Another legend has it that witches built that Kit’s Coty.² Three witches living on Blue Bell Hill erected the stones but had to enlist a fourth witch to help raise the capstone. This apparently was well known in 1848, where it was the inspiration for the Witches’ Stone play at the Theatre Royal in Rochester.¹⁴ A later play, Kit’s Coty a musical Fairy Play 1933, sets Kit’s Coty as the entrance to a fairyland under Blue Bell Hill15 It is also worth emphasising that Blue Bell Hill is well known for supernatural events being the site of the Bluebell Hill Ghost, one of the better known “road ghost stories”.³,¹⁴

Kits Coty is believed to be the setting for the classic 1963 children’s book Stig of the Dump by Clive King. Clive King lived in Ash Kent and went to King’s school in Rochester. Barney, the protagonist in the story, befriends a cave boy he finds inhabiting an old chalk pit used as a dumping ground and they have many adventures together. The end of the book sees Barney and his sister entering a “time slip” on midsummer’s night and being transported back to Stig’s time. They meet Stig with his own people and help construct four giant stones. The book ends with the children back in present time having a picnic with their parents on the North Downs, where the four stones stand.

Besides Neolithic man and witches, there is another explanation for the existence of Kit’s Coty. Jerrold¹⁵ recounts a story of an encounter in 1837 between a friend and a lady “somewhat above that of the middle classes”, who told him;

“Those immense blocks of stone which now excite our wonder as to the means by which they were raised and placed in their present position, were at the time of their erection comparatively speaking mere trifles; but being of a very porous nature, they absorb a vast quantity of water and other humid matter, to this adheres the dust blown from the road, and all sorts of atmospheric impurities, which being baked by successive suns becomes hard as the stone itself, of which in fact it forms a portion, and thus ‘Kit’s Coty House’ has attained its gigantic size. Hear this, oh, ye fishers in muddy waters – ye diggers of visions of antiquity, – ye men of historical research. Listen to this simple – this satisfactory explanation, and confess how vain are all your theories about Cromlechs and Druidical altars, and resting places for the bones of Saxon Kings.”

Coffin Stone
Further down Blue Bell Hill towards the village of Aylesford, there is a large monolith called The Coffin Stone lying flat on the ground within the vineyard. Underneath the stone, human remains were uncovered in 1836. These included 2 skulls and a sack full of bones. In 1980, a farmer added another Sarson stone on the coffin stone.¹⁶

Countless stones
Countless stones, also known as “Little Kit’s Coty”, comprise several fallen over sarsen stones. Records show the stones were destroyed in 1690. Fortunately, there are some drawings in Stucklely’s Itinerarium Curiosum showing the layout whilst the stones were still standing.¹⁷

There is a general belief that the stones of megalithic monuments cannot be counted correctly. The poet Sir Philip Sidney wrote, in “The 7 Wonders of England”:

Neere Wilton sweete huge heapes of stones are found, But so confusde that neither any eye Can count them iust, nor Reason reason trye, What force brought them to so vnlikely ground.¹⁸

At Little Kit’s Coty, there are stories about a baker who, in an attempt to count the stones, placed a loaf of bread on top of each one. Various troubles, depending on which story is read, befall the baker. In one version, one loaf mysteriously disappears and the devil appears in its place, while in another tale, he falls dead just before shouting out the correct number aloud.¹⁹ Various legends accompany the countless stones, one of which suggests that they are petrified humans. According to the legend, these unfortunate people can be released from their enchantment by counting the correct number of stones.²⁰ Stories from France suggest the stones can move at their own will, making it challenging to count them.²¹

White Horse Stone
Located higher up Blue Bell Hill above Kit’s Coty is the White Horse Stone. Although probably part of the remains of a Neolithic burial chamber, it is likely to have been moved from a field into its present location. However, this is not the original White Horse stone as this was lower down in the valley. It was referred to as the Kentish Standard Stone and believed to be the stone on which the white horse banner fell when it’s bearer, Horsa, died.¹⁶ Unfortunately, this was destroyed at the end of the nineteenth century and the present stone has inherited the name.

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