1966 onwards - Warminster
Warminster in Wiltshire became something of a UFO Mecca in the 1960s, thanks largely to the writings or Arthur Shuttlewood, who penned three contemporary books (The Warminster Mystery; Warnings From Flying Friends; UFOs: Key to the New Age) and several more in later years, including The Flying Saucerers.
The main content of these documents are the many claimed sightings of aerial phenomena. Shuttlewood's writings are too voluminous to examine at length, and in any case focus on subjects tangential to the crop circle phenomenon - so we restrict our coverage to observations which are of direct relevance to us. Of interest are the references to crop circle-type effects. Shown right is page 153 of The Warminster Mystery (1968). It is clear that Shuttlewood is describing circles of swirled down reeds and grass, which he dubs "nests". Note his reference to how: "Reeds and grass have been curiously flattened in what invariably seems to be clockwise fashion, blades swept smoothly inert in shallow depressions ... It is significant that most circles, depressed and clearly formed, measure exactly thirty feet in diameter." The exact locations of these sightings vary, but tend to be in the vicinity of Middle Hill (referred to informally as Starr Hill) and Cradle Hill, both to the east of Warminster. Shuttlewood cites "the road between Sutton Common, Norton Bavant and Heytesbury", though no single road connexts these villages. They all lie to the south west of Starr Hill and Cradle Hill |
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Other reports
Although most of the Warminster reports come from Shuttlewood and his
associates, there are independent witnesses of grass circles in the
area. One such case is that seen by Mark Stenhoff, who wrote to Paul Fuller in April 1991 to clarify details of three circles he spotted around 1970. Fuller published his letter in Crop Watcher magazine (issue 5). Mr Stenhoff stated,
"We recall seeing three circles - one large and two smaller - in the far corner of a field. I do not think they were perfect circles, but they were fairly well-defined. I believe there was a swirling pattern."
Other such reports are on record, independently of the Shuttlewood events.
"We recall seeing three circles - one large and two smaller - in the far corner of a field. I do not think they were perfect circles, but they were fairly well-defined. I believe there was a swirling pattern."
Other such reports are on record, independently of the Shuttlewood events.
It may also be relevant to note a throwaway remark in Shuttlewood's UFOs - Key To The New Age (1971, p82), which reiterates the discovery of such markings in grass:
historic old crop circles - related cases
