Bowder Stone

The Bowder Stone is a large andesite lava boulder, that fell 200 metres from the Bowder Crag on Kings How between 13,500 and 10,000 years ago. The stone is situated in Borrowdale, Cumbria, England, at grid reference NY25401639. It is estimated to weigh around 2000 tons and is about 30' (9m) high, 50' (15m) across and 90' (27m) in circumference. There is a staircase allowing visitors to climb to the top, and has been since at least 1890.

The name may come from the local dialect for 'boulder' although a popular story is its derivation from the Norse god Baldr, a son of Odin. Other versions of the name are ‘The Bowdar Stone’ and ‘Powder or Bounder Stone’. In 1772 William Gilpin wrote that it seemed not to be "..rent from the mountains,.." and was an "..independent creation..", using the name Boother-stone.

As stated, it is popularly said that the name equates with Balder, the second son of the god Odin. Balder is best known for being slain through the actions of Loki with an arrow or spear made of mistletoe. One side of the Bowder Stone is said to be a simulacrum of the face of Balder and a small hole is said to have once existed on his head where in Norse mythology the weapon pierced and killed him. A carving representing the sun was supposedly located just above the hole. The oldest photographs show a well defined chin and lips whilst a second face is seen by some.

In the 1500s German miners emigrated to Borrowdale to work the copper mines and the legends of 'Balder' may have come with them.

Although the stone was visited and admired by many, such as William Sawrey Gilpin in 1772,Joseph Pocklington was the first to take practical steps to attract visitors, purchasing the site in 1798, fencing it off, clearing away all the smaller rocks and erecting 'Bowderstone Cottage' to house a guide and building a ladder to allow visitors to easily reach the top and admire the outstanding views. In addition to all this activity Joseph designed a hermitage or chapel himself as a Christian counterpoint to the 'druidical' standing stone or menhir that he had also erected.

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Wikipedia