UK case studies
The many early cases from the UK demonstrate that records of crop circles go back to the start of the 20th century, and we are even able to cite a couple of strong contenders before this. The cases in the literature are plentiful enough, but frustratingly, photographs are rare. With many of these accounts we rely on verbal description and diagrams, but the overall pattern is clear.
Credit is due to a small group of UK researchers, whose efforts brought most of these cases to light in the 1980s and 1990s. Most notably, Paul Fuller expended a great deal of time on documenting old cases. Admirable work was also done by Terence Meaden, Colin Andrews and Pat Delgado, and several other researchers from the era.
For details of each case, click on the thumbnail image.
A note on terminology: in the UK, the word 'corn' is applied to any type of cereal crop (wheat, barley or oats). It does not have the same meaning as the US corn, which applies to maize - or what we Brits call corn-on-the-cob.
Credit is due to a small group of UK researchers, whose efforts brought most of these cases to light in the 1980s and 1990s. Most notably, Paul Fuller expended a great deal of time on documenting old cases. Admirable work was also done by Terence Meaden, Colin Andrews and Pat Delgado, and several other researchers from the era.
For details of each case, click on the thumbnail image.
A note on terminology: in the UK, the word 'corn' is applied to any type of cereal crop (wheat, barley or oats). It does not have the same meaning as the US corn, which applies to maize - or what we Brits call corn-on-the-cob.
1678 Hertfordshire
Rings in oats
The earliest account ever discovered
1880 Guildford, Surrey
Circles in wheat
Circa 1904 Tilshead, Wiltshire
Six-circle formation in wheat
1914 to 1956 Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire
Circles in various crops, over several decades
1918 Bilsington, Kent
Circle in oats or beans
1924 Great Cheverell, Wiltshire
Two circles in wheat
1932 Bow Hill, near Chichester, West Sussex UPDATED 2022
SIngle ring in barley
The earliest known crop circle photograph, published in the 1930s!
1934 Great Eversden, near Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Two circles in corn
Includes an eye-witness account of the circles forming!
1935 and 1937 Helions Bumpstead, near Haverhill, Essex
Various circles, including a triplet formation, in corn
Includes an eye-witness account of the circles forming!
1940 or '41 Earl Shilton, Leicestershire
Triplet in wheat
Possible linear triplet formation
Early 1940s Mill End, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire
'Pictogram' with two or three joined circles in crop
Early pictogram, with connecting pathways
1943 Tangmere, near Chichester, West Sussex
Two circles in crop fields
Elusive missing photographs exist!
Late 1940s Cilycwm, near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Several single circles in various years
Includes an eye-witness account of the circles forming!
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Late 1940s and Early 1950s Alton Barnes area, Wiltshire Two separate events, a single ring and a double ring |
1950s Heytesbury, near Warminster, Wiltshire
'Five-on-a-dice' formation and other single circles
Early 'quintuplet' configuration
1957 Meopham, Kent
Single circle in corn
1962 Swayfield, near Bourne, Lincolnshire
Single ring in crop
Includes an eye-witness account of the circles forming!
1963 Charlton, Wiltshire
Several circles and ovals in cereal crops
Circles recorded by Patrick Moore near the Charlton Crater
1963 Litchfield, Hampshire
Single circle in corn
1964 Eastwood, near Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Single circle in wheat
1965 Mere, Wiltshire
Two circles in corn
1965 to 1970 Pepperbox Hill, near West Grimstead, Wiltshire
Several single circles in wheat
1967 or '68 Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire
Single circle in corn
1975 and 1976 Headbourne Worthy, Hampshire
Single circles in crops
1977 Wooburn Green, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Two circles in barley
1978 Headbourne Worthy, Hampshire
'Five-on-a-dice' formation in crop field
'Quintuplet' documented in Circular Evidence
historic old crop circles - UK circles
