From The Hampshire Chronicle c1929. Re telephone laying in Winchester. The speculations at the end are interesting!
"....The most interesting find, however,was in St. Cross Front street, just outside the Wheatsheaf; the trench revealed an enormous Sarsen stone....The workmen cut away great chunks of the stone by the skilful [?] use of sledge hammers and cold chisels etc and having reduced the weight by about a quarter of a ton they were able to lever the stone away from the line of the trench; it now lies buried under the footpath.......As long ago as the reign of GeoIII, Winchester's eminent historian the Rev. Dr. Milner drew attention to the large Sarsen stones in Winchester. They were considered by him to represent the remains of altars and temples of the ancient Druids.....The Sarsen stone at St. Cross had had it's upper surface levelled off and it certainly resembled an altar stone such as one finds in Wilts and Devon within the stone circles.The question arises: Why was the stone placed here? Probably the Romans placed it as a milestone or boundary mark as it is about 1 Roman Mile from the city gate....[Geology.there are some rare outcrops in Hants.]...Some writers have connected the word Sarsen with Saracen; it is more likely the corruption of a Celtic word....[ Difficult ?]
I certainly consider that we may regard the specimens at Winchester as being relics of the Ancient British period some of the stones having being used as altars for the horrible human sacrifices offered up by the Druids. [!!?] Certain other Sarsens appear to have been used for the circles which formed temples, and a few were possibly used to build Cromlechs. Coitbury, an old place name near the City Bridge ,may indicate that a great Cromlech once existed there, Coit being the Celtic for the covering stone. [ Mega WOW if true!]....Milner refers to a great Sarsen of 11ft. in length formerly near Hyde Abbey. Documents of mediaeval times refer to " a great stone" at the north end of Barditch,"wher the bayliffs ride down at the further end of Hide Street" ....In 1924 a writer suggested that the " great stone" was possibly Athelstan's Chair upon which the King sat to watch the fight between the Earl of Warwick and Colbrand , the Danish giant, traditionally said to have taken place in Hyde Meadow or Danemark Mead.
S. Ward-Evans "
Jimit.
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