Cromlechs or Druids' stones

Cromlechs or Druids' stones and similar monuments belonging to the forgotten past seem to have been regarded with a greater degree of awe and fascination in Cornwall than elsewhere in the British Isles. This attitude survived until the arrival of the Methodists, which was frequently followed by the casting down of the stones as relics of devil worship.
     Typical of the new spirit of intolerance or, alternatively, of indifference to the past, was the destruction of the Great Tolmaen or Hole of Stone in the parish of Constantine in 1869, described by John Timbs as 'one vast oval pebble, placed on the points of two natural rocks'. It was blown up by a quarryman who seems to have been blissfully unaware of the curse he invoked upon himself, because the traditional penalty for damaging it was 'a terrible superhuman vengeance'.
     One famous stone popularly associated with the Druids is now recognized as far older than that strange Aryan priesthood. This is the Men An Tol (above) near Madren, which responds to questions if two pins are laid on its summit. The pins are expected to vibrate in a peculiar way.
     A comparatively recent discovery is the prehistoric village of Chysauster near Gulval, some 2000 years old, which contains a subterranean chamber. Some visitors claim to have seen here a number of 'small grey men' of rather frightening appearance. In the early part of the 19th century, the Methodists held services on this spot, hence, its local nickname, the Chapels, but there has been no suggestion the little grey men resented the hymn-singing and fiery denunciations of paganism which was the theme of so many West Country sermons.
     Near Lamorna is a stone circle known as the Merry Maidens and nearby, two granite pillars called the Pipers, which represent a popular theme in folklore since they commemorate the ancient conflict between paganism and the church. The stones were once real maidens who danced there on the Sabbath whereupon a sheet of forked lightning shot out of Heaven and transformed them into pillars of stone.