Talk:Fir Clump Stone Circle/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: J Milburn (talk · contribs) 15:41, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

Happy to offer a review. Josh Milburn (talk) 15:41, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

• The lead is probably too long for such a short article, per MOS:LEADLENGTH. Can I recommend cutting it? You could probably lose the whole second paragraph, for example.

• I see your point. I've remodelled the lede on that of Withypool Stone Circle, meaning that it is now only two paragraphs long. Midnightblueowl (talk) 22:00, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• "although the vestiges of one survives" Perhaps you could name it?

• I believe that it's a reference to Day House Lane Stone Circle but I need to check that. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:48, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• Burl doesn't actually make it clear which circle he is referring to in the source; do you think it's worth me linking to Day House Lane Stone Circle anyway? Midnightblueowl (talk) 22:19, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• Tricky. Maybe you could do something like: "These have all been destroyed, although the vestiges of one survives[ref] – Day House Stone Circle, near [whatever], [description of 'vestiges'].[ref]" That way, you're not attributing anything to Burl that he doesn't say, but you are providing some helpful context for the reader. Josh Milburn (talk) 12:07, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

• I've done as you suggest. I think that that works quite well. 10:41, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

• National Monuments Record is a dablink

• I've added a Wikilink to Historic England Archive. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:32, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• I'm not keen on the passive voice of "was reported"; perhaps you could attribute the report to a particular person/group, or just remove the "was reported" altogether?

• Good point. I've just gone with "was". Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:31, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• Who was Passmore? An antiquarian?

• Yes - I best add that. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:29, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• "outside Swindon Old Town and the old Marlboro road to Ladder Hill" Some links would be helpful for non-locals!

• I've added a link to Marlborough, Wiltshire and to Old Town, Swindon, although the latter is a redlink for now. There doesn't seem to be an article for Ladder Hill either. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:41, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• Is there any indication of why is was broken up? Or who did it? Or do we just have a rough date?

• Unfortunately I don't think that there is. My guess is that some of the stones were broken up for road metal or building rubble (a practice which can be seen elsewhere, including in Wiltshire) but I don't think the actual reason was ever recorded in this instance. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:52, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• I wonder if we have any pictures of the rough location? There are a few on Geograph that may be useful.

• I didn't look at Geograph but I did look at Wikimedia Commons; I found images of the M4 motorway, but they weren't of that very specific spot. I'm not really familiar with Geograph but I'll take a look at it. Midnightblueowl (talk) 21:56, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• I managed to move one of the Geograph images over to Wikimedia Commons (much easier than I was anticipating) and have added it to the article. Midnightblueowl (talk) 22:09, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• This book, which has an adaptation of the plan, discusses the reasonably distinctive "double concentric" construction, comparing it to another doubly concentric circle. Perhaps worth including?

• Ah, I've not come across this book before, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Unfortunately the Google Books viewer doesn't allow us to see what the page numbers are. I'll try and get around to making a copy of that plan when I have time, it would make a really useful addition to the article. Midnightblueowl (talk) 22:03, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

• Yes; I thought the diagram was very useful; I also liked the comparison to another circle. I'll leave that with you, anyway. Josh Milburn (talk) 12:07, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

Tough to write about a lost circle, but this article does a decent job! Josh Milburn (talk) 16:05, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

Thanks Josh. Apologies for that delay in making the final change; I haven't had much time for Wikipedia editing lately. Midnightblueowl (talk) 10:41, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

Ok; I can't see this article improving much from where it is, possibly short of the citation above, but I'll leave that in your hands. Promoting now. I was reading the other day about Kemp Howe Stone Circle, one of the Shap circles, in a little book on Cumbrian stone circles. Half of Kemp Howe - but only half! - suffered a similar fate to Fir Clump. Josh Milburn (talk) 19:59, 10 July 2019 (UTC)