Gary Irwin (Member no: 872)

The Kempe Stones

It features two large upright stones, along with smaller supporting stones, topped by a large rounded capstone

Despite living in Newtownards all my life, I only discovered my local dolmen relatively recently.. It can be found off the Kempe Stones Road between Newtownards and Dundonald in Co Down, Northern Ireland.  The Kempe Stones have been criminally left to become overgrown on private land in a farmer's field at 23 Greengraves Road (also named after the dolmen.. Grian being Irish for Sun). 

It features two large upright stones, along with smaller supporting stones, topped by a large rounded capstone. The whole thing is some three meters in height. Around the site are traces of a cairn, a burial chamber, which has long since been ploughed out. In the 1830s, archaeologists found bones and pottery at the site.

It occured to me it would make a great album concept so we licenced an 1849 painting by James Moore to use as the artwork for my album, released last year, The Kempe Stone Portal by The Vendetta Suite.