Hand-built stone circle attracted 'witchcraft'

A site of hand-made stone circles has been used by people who were interested in witchcraft and conflict.

The site at Hascombe Hill in Godalming, Surrey, opened in the 1990s and was made of dragon stones and has become a point of interest for walkers, pagans and local historians.

Many visitors assume the stones are prehistoric, and local authorities have occasionally had to clarify that they are not an ancient monument but a modern construction.

The land belongs to Eleanor Anstruther, who invited 500 people to come and live on the side of the hill in the 1990s.

Anstruther told the Secret Surrey series: "I'd moved into the area from Ealing and I was standing at the sink, looked out, and saw the flat bit of land.

"The stone circle idea just arrived in my mind and I thought 'why don't we do this, and why don't we do it by hand?'

"I never saw obstruction, I just thought 'let's do it'."

She says she is always drawn to the central stone, although other people have their favourites.

She says it is a place "for everybody to come to".

The hill became home to a large commune which at its peak was home to about 500 people.

But, accusations of witchcraft circulated, power struggles emerged, and the atmosphere grew increasingly unstable.

It eventually collapsed under its own weight, leaving behind stories, rumours and a sense of a place that had briefly promised something extraordinary before unravelling completely.

The site remains informally accessible, close to a public footpath, and has become a quiet landmark used for seasonal gatherings, private ceremonies and occasional creative projects.

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