Chanctonbury Ring - West Sussex

Chanctonbury Ring, an Iron Age Hill Fort, perches prominently on the northern edge of the South Downs, 783 feet above sea level, overlooking much of the Weald below; the old Ridgeway across the downs passing just to the south. A notable Sussex landmark today, the Ring is the subject of many paintings, postcards and photographs.

Current fame is more due to a crown of Beech trees planted on top in 1760 by a young man named Charles Goring who lived to eighty-five, and saw his trees grow to maturity. When the trees were planted, locals were quite upset by the venture but the trees later became a structure of beauty. After planting the trees on the Ring, Charles and his staff watered them regularly until their roots took hold. However, the trees in the centre didn't grow too well, which is when it was found that they had been planted on an old Roman temple. There is evidence of a lot of Roman activity both on the South Downs, and in the Weald below, where a number of Roman roads still survive today; the main one of these running from Storrington, in the west, to Barcombe, in East Sussex, which is quite a distance, in miles.

The Saxons also left their mark on the area, with many place names ending in 'ton', from the Saxon 'tun', meaning a farmstead. Apart from the Chancton farms just north of the Ring where, in 1866, a crock of Saxon coins was discovered, there are other Saxon names, including Wiston, Buncton, Washington, Ashington and Storrington.

Unfortunately, the hurricane of 1987 depleted the trees greatly, by blowing many down, but they were replanted early in the century 2000 by John Goring, descendant of Charles, who greatly annoyed locals, including the Society of Sussex Downsmen, by installing an iron water tank and barbed wire around the Ring for his cattle. Despite the trees having been replanted, the Ring won't appear to have quite the same grandeur for many years, unfortunately.

Folklore has it that the place is an old faery haunt and you can see the faeries dancing in the Ring on Midsummer Eve as well as UFO's flying overhead. A group in 1968 decided to watch for UFO's one night and were rewarded with a sighting, along with waves of intense cold, a sensation of electric shock, difficulty in breathing and stomach pains. In 1972, a man and two friends were walking within the Ring when they were startled by a noise from above; caused by a large object brushing the tree tops. The object was large and glowed a dull red. After a minute the object moved away and the witnesses saw blue lights and what looked like four windows on the top of the craft. In 1979 a similar object was seen and in 1974 a brilliant white circular object was seen which changed to an oblong shape and headed northwest at great speed. In 1975 a bright orange object was seen over Cissbury Ring before it headed off in the direction of Chanctonbury where it was seen by a woman walking her dog. This sort of sighting between the two hillforts has been quite common.

Probably because of its pagan history, Chanctonbury Ring is a big draw to the pagan sector of the community, who have used it for various rituals in the pagan calendar. One time, I decided I would like to climb the hill path directly up to the Ring, starting from the perimeter of the Manor House grounds below. Other times, I have started at the top of the hill to the east of the Ring and walked along the ridge to reach it, but this one time was a wonderful experience. I couldn't help but harken back to the days when the Romans climbed to their temple, or the Saxons, to tend their cattle and sheep. As I climbed the rugged path, sheltered by arched, ancient tree boughs, I couldn't help but visualise groups of Romans and Saxons making the same climb. It was quite steep and time consuming... much quicker coming down... but I emerged at the top, to wonderful scenery, across a vast area of rolling, green hills, and when I looked to the right of me, there stood the Magnificent Circle of Trees, a few yards away. Wow, it was awesome when I reached it. There's an atmosphere there which makes you want to quietly contemplate history. I walked around the Ring thrice, solemnly, then stood quietly for a while, staring into the circle, imagining activities of days gone by. Strange how I'm drawn to these ancient places, but there is something there... after all these centuries... which is still alive and vibrant!