The Musical Stones of Skiddaw
Rocks from a Lake District mountain ring like bells, and a family of stonemasons built them into an instrument played for the Queen.
What was reported
The rock of Skiddaw, a mountain in the Lake District, includes a kind of hornfels that rings when struck. In the 19th century, local craftsmen collected and shaped pieces of it into lithophones: instruments like a giant xylophone, made of stone.
The best known was built by the stonemason Joseph Richardson and his sons over many years, and played in concerts around Britain in the 1840s, including for Queen Victoria. One set of the Musical Stones of Skiddaw can still be played at the Keswick Museum.
Explanations offered
The rock was baked by heat from molten granite deep underground millions of years ago, which made it dense and fine-grained, so it rings clearly when struck. Shaping each stone to a precise length and thickness tunes its note.
- When
- Played from the 1840s
- Where
- Keswick, Cumbria, England
- Witnesses
- Victorian audiences, including Queen Victoria
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.