Writers of Matlock tourist guides in the nineteenth century described megalithic remains on Riber Hill, above Starkholmes, which are variously labelled dolmen, cromlech and rocking stone, and appear to have been four large stones, one balanced on another. But there was no trace of these a hundred years ago, and they appear to have been broken up, possibly on John Smedley’s orders, as idolatrous pagan survivals. It is easy to forget the role played by religious fanatics in destroying such remains.

However, there seems to have been a stone circle nearby, on the top of Bilberry Knoll, beside Hearthstone Lane, less than a mile south of Riber Castle. This site was explored by a John Simpson around 1905 and described in an article in the Derbyshire Archaeological Journal for 1915. He thought that such circles were evidence of prehistoric sun worship, and claimed that this circle aligned with the Nine Ladies circle on Stanton Moor at sunset on the Summer Solstice. Regrettably he did not draw a plan of the site, or include any useful photos, but estimated that the circle had a diameter of 144 feet.

Today the site is remarkable for the jumble of stones in one area, although it is difficult to make out the shape of a circle. Some stones may have been broken up for walling. But whatever we may think of Simpson’s theories, two things are clear. Firstly, Bilberry Knoll is a remarkable viewpoint, ideally suited to some kind of monument, and secondly it is near the crossroads of two ancient tracks: Hearthstone Lane which runs from west to east, and another route which Simpson describes, coming from Lea Green, fording the Lea Brook and then climbing past Upper Lees farm to the ridge and down to Cromford bridge, Scarthin, Bonsall, Brightgate, joining the Portway to Robin Hood’s Stride and on to Youlgrave and possibly Arbor Low.

Too much speculation, maybe, but Alison Uttley should have the last word. She was brought up in the late nineteenth century at Castletop farm, near the west end of Hearthstone Lane:

“… the old highway, dating from long before any of the roads in the valley. We knew, from family tradition, that the packhorses travelled along it, and that lead from the Roman mines in the hills was once carried on its winding slopes on ponies’ backs.”

Sources: Simpson, J. Megalithic Remains on Bilberry Knoll, Matlock. DAJ Vol 37, 1915

Uttley, A. Ambush of Young Days. Faber and Faber, 1937 p.107