trip sixteen: park of the year

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  • alan - 14 October 2011 -

    theres a curious mound situated in a small set of woods on the pollok golf course rumouired to be the burial site of the pollok witches.i’m grew up in these woods as a young pollok boy and we used to find wooden cats carved from wood stuck in trees beside it along with flowers/herbs.my friend found a small copper disc/medallion with two human figures holding hands standing atop the mound with the moon engraved on it as well which makes me believe that this is still getting used for ritual purposes.we told my pal to leave the disc there but he kept a hold of it and he had bad luck connected to him ever since..subsequently hanged himself about 9 yr ago..as kids we felt there was something weird about the place…there was old stoneworks where the m77 is now maybe that was the site an old castle as there was a deep well beside it..i can remember this about 1980

    • Paul - 10 February 2013 -

      Hi there ,this mound you speak of is indeed a bronze age burial mound which was excavated at the end of the century, an urn was found there containing the remains of a woman and a small child .
      On the matter of witches there is a whitches coven still operating in the park today and have being doing so for at least 20/25 years i know this because they were interviewed by the evening times many years ago and i seen the picture and read the interview and also on a recent visit to the park to show someone the iron age settlement at Pollok Pond we bunped into them holding ceramony there ,there must have been about 50 of them and they were having a mass on the site about 2 o clock on a Sunday afternoon,all dressed up in weird and wonderful clothes men woman and children.

  • May Miles Thomas - 14 October 2011 -

    Hi Alan

    Thanks for the comment. That’s quite a story you tell. I grew up in Pollok as well and Pollok Estate was a playground for me – not that I saw much evidence of witchcraft but the rumours of covens persist to this day. If I ever come across any medallions in the park I’ll make sure to leave well alone – after reading what happened to your friend, it makes you wonder if there are malevolent forces at work or if by the power of thought we’re somehow capable of attracting bad fortune. A cautionary tale…

    May

  • Paul - 10 February 2013 -

    Alternative Names Glasgow, Pollok Golf Course
    Site Type BARROW
    Canmore ID 44405
    Site Number NS56SW 9
    NGR NS 5460 6164
    Council GLASGOW, CITY OF
    Parish EASTWOOD (CITY OF GLASGOW)
    Former Region STRATHCLYDE
    Former District CITY OF GLASGOW
    Former County LANARKSHIRE

    Canmore Mapping
    View this site on a map

    ——————————————————————————–

    Archaeological Notes

    NS56SW 9 5460 6164.

    (NS 5460 6164) Cinerary Urn found AD 1863 (NAT)
    OS 6″ map, (1969)

    Tumulus (NR) (Urn found AD. 1863)
    OS 6″ map, (1935)

    Situated inside a small circular wood, the mound is a truncated one, diameter at base, 56′; diameter at top, 26′, height, 6′. In the interior of the tumulus there was no appearance of any artificial arrangement, either a gallery or stone coffin. In the centre of the mound, on the natural surface of the ground, was found, with its mouth downwards, an unglazed cinerary urn, 5/8″ thick, diameter at mouth 11 1/2″, diameter 2 1/2″ lower, 14″, diameter at bottom, 4 1/2″, height 13 3/4″, containing fragments of calcined bones. An amber bead was found near the urn. Date of finds: 27th August 1863.
    Information from revision Name Book, 21; Information from Rev J Manson, to OS, October 1934 and from R Gray, writer, West George St, Glasgow.

    A well-preserved mound, 20.0m in diameter and 2.0m high. Present whereabouts of contents not known – not in Hunterian or Kelvingrove Museums.
    Visited by OS (J L D) 1 April 1954.

    • May Miles Thomas - 10 February 2013 -

      Thanks very much for the info Paul – I’ve been to the site you refer to but didn’t find much apart from a slight mound.

      In the film version of the Devil’s Plantation I make reference to the witches of Pollok. The writer/actress Anne Downie wrote a play of the same title based on a witch trial in the area in the 17th (I think) century.

      All the best,
      May

  • Michael - 9 June 2013 -

    A nice blog. Ever thought about that stuff turning up in auctions – that found in Attic stuff selling for millions ? just google Ming vase – pinched from the Burrell packing crates in 1973 by Jamie Bryce and Alex McFadden – oh and by the way, the lady Jin fur is a fake – it was painted by coggie coghlan’s big brother Nathan a drop out art student from hardridge .

  • Anna McLay - 2 November 2014 -

    Hi, im so intrigued by the mound with the distorted Pollok beech tree on top of it. I have questions….is it a burial mound? Does the tree hold malevolent forces despite being known as the wishing tree. ? I took photos of the tree last year & there was a scary demonic looking face in the trunk. Plus i hacked off a large branch, took it home,sprayed it gold & have various little trinkets hanging from it in my bedroom. Should i get rid of my branch?

    • May Miles Thomas - 2 November 2014 -

      Hi Anna,

      I don’t know if you’ve read the other comments on this blog post but it seems Pollok Estate is rife with stories about covens and occult rituals. The tree you mention has been there ever since I can remember – a long time now – but when I went to film there a couple of years ago I found a sign claiming it was ‘the witch’s beech’ – first I’ve ever heard of it. I don’t know about the legality of hacking off branches but what I do know is that many trees are listed and the beech in question is possibly included, since it’s so ancient. In my own neighbourhood – admittedly a conservation area – you need permission to cut down trees unless they present a danger, eg. after a storm. I’d say as long as you don’t feel any malicious vibes off the branch – or if you’ve experienced bad luck lately – then it’s probably safe to hang onto it.

      Thanks for reading the blog,
      May

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