| 038 Boundary
Stone, Witch Craig, Torphichen. |
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Description
This stone comprises a dressed block with a rounded top and a
"cross" carved on one side. Although marked as a
boundary stone on the OS map it is sign-posted locally as the
Refuge Stone. The stone had been toppled from its place in a dry
stone wall at time of visit but has since been re-erected.
Directions
Watch Craig is a mile to the North of Cairnpapple Hill, Bathgate.
A footpath leads to the stone.
Parking
There is a road side lay-by and parking area.
Folklore
This stone was one of the 'refuge stones' that formed a
circle at a distance of a mile around Torphichen Preceptory.
All of the space within the circle formed by these stones
was as much a legal sanctuary as the church itself and
offered protection against the law to every criminal or
debtor who entered and remained within its precincts.
Fieldnotes
I did not know what to expect when I first visited this location
and was most dismayed to see the stone had been toppled from
it's (precarious) perch on top of the dry stone wall. See
gallery. However, on my second visit the stone had been
re-erected and the Maltese cross was plainly visible.
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