The Blessing Stone

These were traditionally coracles, small wood-framed, single-person boats covered in animal skin or pitched linen used for the ancient practice of seine net fishing. This involved a net being suspended between two coracles and used to catch salmon or trout. The local Vicar stood on the stone to bless the craft, although previously the Abbot from the now-ruined Abbey at St Dogmaels would have performed the task.

Even more mysterious is the stone’s past. It has the appearance of a dolmen capstone, and there are other stones nearby that may have acted as supports. A dolmen, sometimes called a portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or “table.” Most date from the early Neolithic period and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus.