West Kennet, Wiltshire is in Selkley Hundred, Wiltshire.
Falkner's Circle is also in Avebury Stone Circles, Avebury Henge and Stones [Map].
Falkner's Circle [Map] is a 37m diameter Stone Circle of twelve stones, of which only one 1.3m high stone remains, in the Prehistoric Avebury Landscape around 470m south of the Avebury Henge South Entrance [Map] adjacent to the West Kennet Avenue.
Avebury by William Stukeley. 15th May 1724. Table XXII. Prospect of Kennet Avenue from the Druids tumulus on Hakpen hill. May 15th 1724.
Note. On the left West Kennet Long Barrow [Map], in the middle Silbury Hill [Map], Avebury very right. Looking west; the opposite view of the drawing made on the 24th of May 1724. Note the absence of Falkner's Circle [Map].
Avebury by William Stukeley. Table XIX. Continuation of Kennet avenue 24 May 1724.
Note. Looking east; the opposite view of the drawing made on the 15th of May 1724. Note the absence of Falkner's Circle [Map].
Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 1857 V4 Pages 307-363. 1840. In the dip of the hill between the Kennet avenue and a slight oblong earthwork on the slope of Hakpen Hill,1 a solitary stone is standing. Mr. Falkner of Devizes, has favoured me with the following account of his observations in connection with it. "The stone which you saw in a field on the left, when you went along the avenue towards Kennet, was seen by me in 1840. I went to it, and found it was one of a circle [Falkner's Circle [Map]] that had existed at some former period. There were two other stones lying on the ground, and nine hollow places, from which stones had been removed, making twelve altogether. I made a note of it at the time, and the person with whom I was riding observed it also. The circle was then in a meadow, which was broken up a few years afterwards, and two of the stones removed. The circle was 2824 yards from the nearest part of the avenue. I could not have been mistaken as to the fact of a circle being there, and considered the discovery of sufficient importance to write to the Rev. E. Duke on the subject, who was not aware of what I told him, nor could he explain the matter at all,—only suggesting that the stones might have been set round a large tumulus,—but the ground was quite flat within the circle, which was about 120 feet in diameter."
Note 1. I use the words "Hakpen Hill" because this hill is so designated in the plan, but the Hakpen Hill, properly so called, does not extend so far to the south, or beyond the road leading from Abury to Rockley. See Ordnance Map.
Falkner's Circle Long Barrow is also in Avebury Long Barrows.
Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine 1924 V42 Pages 49-51. New Long Barrow at Avebury [Map] (Barrow 21, Goddard). Quoted as a round barrow by Smith, is close to the remains of a stone circle and is — a distinct long barrow with the broadest and highest end to the S.S.W.: on each side are very broad but shallow hollows which, together with the mound, have been nearly obliterated by the plough. It now measures 150 feet by 60 feet. The circle above mentioned, which I propose to call Falkner's circle [Map], in honour of its discoverer, has only one stone now remaining. This must have been on the west side, as it agrees with Falkner's measurements from the Kennett Avenue.
Avebury by William Stukeley. Table XXIX. Top: A Group of Barrows on the side of the valley above Beckampton [Map]. Bottom: A Group of Barrows upon Overton hill [Map].
West Kennet Enclosures is also in Avebury Late Neolithic Early Bronze Age.
West Kennet Enclosures [Map]. Historic England 1015157
The monument, which falls into three separate areas, includes the recorded extent of two Late Neolithic palisaded enclosures, a linear radial ditch and a small, circular, double-ditched enclosure, all situated in the Kennet Valley at West Kennett Farm. The north east enclosure lies within 150m of the West Kennett Avenue which leads from the Avebury henge to the henge known as 'the Sanctuary [Map]', 750m to the east. Although no longer visible at ground level, the monument is known from aerial photographs, part excavations and geophysical survey to survive buried below the modern ground level. Of the two palisaded enclosures, the larger is to the north east, and the smaller to the south west. The north east enclosure (known as enclosure 1) has a pair of concentric ditches which are cut by the present line of the River Kennet, believed to have been much smaller in the Neolithic period than it appears today. The outer ditch varies in width from 1.5m to 1.7m and where excavated was up to 3m deep. Its inner edge was near vertical, while its outer edge was more gently sloped. This would probably have helped in the insertion of the 30cm-40cm diameter wooden posts which were set up in sockets 0.5m lower than the base of the ditch. These were close-set with around five posts for every 3m of ditch. Excavation shows that these posts were held in place by sarsen boulders and packed chalk which was back filled into the ditch soon after it was opened. The inner ditch was of similar construction and measured up to 1.9m wide and 2.7m deep. Pottery from this ditch was of the decorated 'grooved ware' type. Between the ditches, limited excavations revealed a 0.10cm-0.15m thick layer of packed chalk forming a surface at least 10m across. This surface contained a variety of animal bone and antler, which was particularly concentrated in an area 1m by 3m across, as well as sherds of 'grooved ware' pottery. The area enclosed by these ditches is believed to be roughly circular, measuring approximately 275m in diameter. However, the northern half of this monument is not fully recorded and its north west quadrant cannot be accurately plotted at present. Enclosure 2, situated 10m to the south east of enclosure 1 and entirely south of the present line of the River Kennet, is roughly oval and is aligned WNW-ESE, with a long axis of approximately 350m and 208m across. It has a single ditch which measures from 1.4m to 3m wide and, where excavated, up to 2.6m deep. The posts in this ditch were larger, measuring from 0.5m to 0.8m in diameter. Internally, aerial photographs show a series of ditches and other features including a number of concentric circular features up to 50m in diameter. These are particularly concentrated at the eastern end of the enclosure, close to enclosure 1. Running south east from the south east side of enclosure 2 is a linear ditch about 0.9m wide and 1m deep. This contained posts similar to those in the curved ditches around the enclosures and can be traced for 80m south east on aerial photographs. There is then a gap before the ditch continues for about a further 80m up to a double-ditched concentric enclosure with an outer diameter of approximately 48m. These ditches contain a series of closely spaced posts up to 0.5m in diameter and cut into the natural chalk up to 1m deep. The centre of the enclosure appears, from the evidence of geophysical survey, to contain a concentration of material or a pit. The enclosure is similar in size to the Sanctuary. Excluded from the scheduling are all above ground buildings including the Grade II Listed barns, post and wire boundary fences, road and track surfaces, below ground services and their trenches, although the ground beneath all these features is included in the scheduling.
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Around 2300BC. The West Kennet Enclosures [Map] were first noticed as crop marks on aerial photographs by J.K.St.Joseph in the 1950s. In 1987 Alasdair Whittle of Cardiff University began a 5 year period of investigations. They comprise two large areas of enclosed by timber palisading. One was circular with an inner row of palisading, the other formed a C. The major dimension of each enclosure was about 275 metres and 340 metres respectively. The River Kennet flows through the middle of the double-ringed component.
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The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Avebury by William Stukeley. John Fowler, who kept the alehouse hard by, demolished many of these stones by burning. The alehouse (the White Hart) [Map] and the walls about it, were built out of one stone.