Return to Hood Hill - another hill of Odin?

  A previous post described the Altar Stone which used to stand on the top of Hood Hill near Sutton Bank, 5 miles to the east of Thirsk.

 Local folklore records that the large block of stone was originally a Druid altar, which was dropped on the hill by the Devil, but unfortunately the rock was totally destroyed in the 1950's when a jet aircraft crashed into it.

  In the early 1900's, Edmund Bogg noted another piece of folklore connected with the rock ...
“when the dinner-bell rang at Osgodby Hall the stone rolled down for its repast, and regularly returned to the crest after the meal.” (Bogg, 1906).

Roseberry Topping - the high altar of Odin?

Beneath the shade the Northmen came,
Fix'd on each vale a Runic name,
Rear’d high their altar's rugged stone,
And gave their Gods the land they won.

 The mountain like peak of Roseberry Topping is located 5 miles to the south east of Middlesborough, and forms part of the Cleveland Hills range running along the northern edge of the North York Moors.

 At over 1000 feet in height Roseberry can be classed as a mountain, and its distinctive shape has seen it referred to as the Yorkshire Matterhorn. Being such an imposing landmark, it is no surprise to find this hill features in the folklore, and even the ancient mythology of the region.

 When the hill starts to appear in land documents during the 12th century its name is recorded as Othenesburg, meaning 'Odin's Hill'. This name points to the early Anglo-Scandinavian settlers in this area having dedicated the mountain to their chief god Odin. Some confirmation of this being a holy hill may also come from the Airy-Holme placename, which is marked on the first edition OS map (1856) as a location on the east side of the hill, and half a mile to the north of Airy Holme farm.