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Megalithic Poems
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Littlestone
Littlestone
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The Legend of the Hangman's Stone
Jan 19, 2007, 23:10
The Legend of the Hangman's Stone

One shaft he drew on his well-tried yew,
And a gallant hart lay dead;
He tied its legs, and he hoisted his prize,
And he toiled over Lubcloud brow.
He reached the tall stone standing out and alone.
Standing there as it standeth now;
With his back to the stone, he rested his load,
And he chuckled with glee to think
That the rest of his way on the downhill lay,
And his wife would have spied the strong drink,

A swineherd was passing o'er great Ives Head,
When he noticed a motionless man;
He shouted in vain, No reply could he gain,
So down to the grey stone he ran.
All was clear: there was Oxley on one side the stone,
On the other the down-hanging deer;
The burden had slipped, and his neck it had nipped;
He was hanged by his prize all was clear.

The poem refers to death of the deerstealer, John of Oxley of Leicestershire, and his untimely end on the Grey Hangman's Stone.
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