Maen Huail

Maen Huail
Exmewe Hall, Ruthin. The stone is against the wall facing the roundabout.
Denbighshire
Shown within Denbighshire
Location Centre of Ruthin. (OS Grid ref SJ123582)
Region North Wales
Coordinates 53°06′52″N 3°18′39″W / 53.1144°N 3.3108°W / 53.1144; -3.3108Coordinates: 53°06′52″N 3°18′39″W / 53.1144°N 3.3108°W / 53.1144; -3.3108
Type historic stone
History
Periods post-medieval or older
Site notes
Condition Good
Public access Yes
Reference no. DE030

Maen Huail is a stone block at St Peter's Square, in the centre of Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales. A circular plaque next to it states "Maen Huail on which tradition states, King Arthur beheaded Huail, brother of Gildas the historian". The stone was recorded in 1699 as being in the middle of the road,[1] and now stands on a concrete plinth against the half-timbered wall of the Barclays Bank building, a 20th-century copy of the now mainly destroyed Exmewe Hall.[2]

The origin of the legend is The Chronicle of Elis Gruffydd, dating to around 1550,[3] although the stone itself is thought more likely to be a market or civic stone, or a preaching stone.[1] It is a craggy and heavily weathered limestone boulder, measuring 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) long, and some 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) high and wide.[1]

See also

List of Scheduled Monuments in Denbighshire

References

  1. 1 2 3 Maen Huail, St. Peter's Square, Ruthin (ID NPRN306840). at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW)
  2. ↑ Maen Huail stone (ID PRN100868). in the 'SMR' for Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT). Cadw SAM: DE030: Maen Huail Historic Stone
  3. ↑ 'The Quarrel of Arthur and Huail, and the Death of Huail ap Caw', in The Chronicle of Elis Gruffudd. Celtic Literature Collective. Accessed 14 April 2016
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