Blowing Stone Hill, where 19th-century antiquarians thought King Alfred the Great's Saxon troops had camped, and that this was how Alfred summoned them for the Battle of Ashdown against the Danes in AD 871. Thomas Hughes' novel "Tom Brown's School Days" refers to it as the "Blawing Stwun" and calls the village "Kingstone Lisle". It is also one of the "sacred stones" mentioned in William Horwood's "Duncton Wood", the first book in his fantasy fiction series about a group of moles. Blowing Stone The Blowing Stone is a perforated sarsen at in Kingston Lisle, Oxfordshire (Berkshire until 1974). The stone is in
Battle of Ashdown the 's expansion 'Viking Conquest'. The battle might take place before its historical date though, depending on player's choices. During the battle, the player character will clash against the Dane invaders aided by the West Seaxe army, and take revenge on Sven Bull Neck, a fictional Viking character and main antagonist. Apart from this, most of the battle is historically accurate, as it takes place in a similar location and involves some historical figures who took action during the battle. Battle of Ashdown The Battle of Ashdown, in Berkshire (possibly the part now in Oxfordshire), took place on 8 January