king arthur’s hall : kingscross : of halls and crosses.

of halls and crosses; of kings and queens; of myths and monuments.

1. king arthur’s hall: is the mythic name that has attached itself to this enigmatic site on bodmin moor. it lies within sight of many significant tors and ancient monuments; at its horizon, at the left of the photo, sits alex tor, then dinnever hill, stannon stone circle and settlement, louden hill with its logan rock, louden stone circle and burial chamber, rough tor, also with its logan rock and ancient settlement, and the fernacre stone circle that sits below it.

that king arthur held court at his hall here is myth. that this rectilinear monument held importance to its local ancient tribes is less difficult to imagine- as the site of an active spring, this year round pool would have been of both practical, votive and ceremonial importance. the stones and bank erected at its edge, further monumentalising its presence on the moor, and adding it to this extensive ceremonial landscape. here

2. king’s cross: the area originally known as battle bridge after an ancient crossing of the river fleet, and deemed to be the site of a major battle in AD 60 or 61 between the romans and the iceni tribe led by queen boudica. that the battle took place is not disputed, however the suggestion that boudica is buried beneath platform 9 or 10 at king’s cross station is an urban myth that arose at the end of world war II.

after the 19th century it became known as ‘the kings crossing’, but this as the result of a monument erected in 1830 to king george IV which stood at the crossroads of the new road (later euston road), gray’s Inn road, and pentonville road. 18m high and topped by a 3.4m stone statue of the king, the upper storey held a camera obscura, while the base, housed first a police station, then a public house. unpopular, it was demolished in 1845, but the area kept the name.