Name of monument
Tinkinswood
Also known as
Type of site
Dimensions (approx)
H:
W:
D:
LR Grid Reference
OS Map Number
LR 171
Nearest Village
Nearest Town
Property Type
Access
MRW Access rating
MRW Site Rating
Other information
Legends / stories attached to this monument. Inscriptions. See who has provided other information.
Gallery
Due shortly
Written on the information board near the monument is the following:
"Originally built around 400 years BCE (BC), this megalithic chamber was constructed as a communal burial of the dead. It was once covered by a mound. The enormous cap stone weighs some 40 tons and is thought to be the largest in Britain."
This extremely impressive burial chamber, once known as Castell Carreg, is an incredible monument to visit.
From the A48 heading toward Cowbridge from Culverhouse Cross you come to St Nicholas. At the traffic lights turn left heading for Dyffryn Springs, and follow the road for a short while until you come to a lay by on your right, pull in here, go through the gate and follow the fenceline. There used to be a sign, but on our last visit it was gone.
The most striking feature of the monument is its massive capstone measuring an almighty 28 feet long by 18 feet wide and nearly 3 feet thick it is said to weigh in at a colossal 40 tons, it is believed it is the biggest in the whole of Britain. How the builders of this magnificent monument managed to get the capstone onto its mighty supports is simply amazing, and the effort involved in doing so some 6000 years ago is a testament to the resourcefulness of our ancestors.
This site is a must and has to be visited too appreciate just how huge the entire monument is. Tinkinswood was excavated in 1914 and the remains of over 50 bodies were found, along with pottery.
Whilst approaching the monument we also came across what appears to be the ruins of another chamber in an adjoining field, also an extensive area where it appears the capstone of Tinkinswood might have been quarried.
Again in the treeline of the field next to the monument there is another large slab of the same stone as Tinkinswood, which we couldn’t decide whether or not was part of the remains of another chamber, or a discarded part of the original Tinkinswood construction. See "Legends and Stories" link above.
