MITCHELL’S FOLD, STAPELEY COMMON. SO 305983
MITCHELL’S FOLD, STAPELEY COMMON. SO 305983 BACK TO TOP

A Bronze age circle about 2000-1200 BC. Now 15 stones, there may have been 30 originally. Not far from a prehistoric axe factory at Cwm Mawr an done of three circles (one lost) in the area. One version of the Mitchell’s fold legend is that a giant cow gave unceasing milk, filling all buckets, until a witch milked her into a sieve until she was dry. The witch turned to stone and the stone circle was erected to keep her in. For the fate of the cow see below.
THE COW STONE. SO 30912 98880. BACK TO TOP

Barry Teague writes: Whilst reading an old report concerning the Hoarstones stone circle at Hemford in Shrops. ( L.F.Chitty; Shrops. Arch. Trans. 1926, Pt 2, pp.226-32), I came across this sentence: "The Hoarstones Circle is the most northerly of the megalithic monuments of the Corndon-Stapeley region, which include also the Whetstones (destroyed circle just over the border into Montgomeryshire), Mitchell's Fold, with the Cow Stone or "Dead Cow" beyond it to the N.E......." I'd never heard of the Cow Stone (or "Dead Cow").
THE COW STONE. SO 30912 98880
At Mitchell's Fold stone circle, there is a graphic display board, erected by English Heritage, which shows the comparative location of the megaliths (both extant and destroyed) in the area. The Cow Stone is not mentioned. This needs further investigation, I thought. I set out in my quest from Mitchell's Fold along the public right-of-way which heads, in a north-easterly direction, towards Stapeley Hill. After approx. 400metres, just to the left of the path, I came across a recumbent stone. Walking around to the opposite side, with the sun shining from the south and only a small stretch of the imagination, I could see it, the Dead Cow - a 2.5metres long, recumbent stone.
THE HOARSTONES, BLACK MARSH SO 324999
THE HOARSTONES, BLACK MARSH SO 324999 BACK TO TOP

A circle that lies in wet marshy ground sometimes called Black Marsh circle, not far from Mitchell’ fold. A stone more or less in the centre may be a later addition. The holes in the stones are modern - made by miners drilling the stones and setting off gunpowder to celebrate weddings.
Shropshire

Cow Stone
Hoarstones
Mitchell's Ford