The name is interesting, as it may have derived from the Old English "Soke stan" meaning the stone where tribute or rent is paid.

This is the Suckstone, thought to be the largest single boulder in Britain. Looking like the head of a fallen dinosaur, it lies in a part of the Forest of Dean behind the village of Staunton. 
The name is interesting, as it may have derived from the Old English "Soke stan" meaning the stone where tribute or rent is paid.

This would make it a probable location for an Anglo-Saxon moot, the meetings where people would gather each month to work through legal disputes, crimes and punishments, hear proclamations and share the latest news. 
The folklore around the Suckstone is fascinating too. It was believed that a "fairy" or some sort of supernatural female entity inhabited the stone, and if an artistically-minded man could clamber his way to the tilted plateau at the top he would "meet" her and be granted inspiration for his future work. The playwright Dennis Potter, a son of the Forest himself, made the climb and confessed to feeling reinvigorated, while the artist JM Turner did the same.

I had a rather odd experience at the Suckstone on my last visit which I won't relate yet as I still don't understand what actually happened, but suffice to say there is an atmosphere here. 

Staunton means "place of stones" and there are other ones here which I will post about from time to time as all of them have stories around them. 

In my book The Mystery Of Mercia I travel through the Forest of Dean and examine the stones of Staunton in detail, available at the link in the comments.

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