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 Mark Fussell & Stuart Dike
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Compiled by Jeremy Kaye
Updated Monday 13th October 1997
This report was compiled by Jeremy Kay using the information from the Oxford Centre for Crop Circle Studies newsletter which was compiled by Geoff Ambler.
Note ACW and CW stand for anti-clock wise swirl and clockwise swirl respectively.
1) CHISELHAMPTON. June 24th. Credit: Ellis Taylor. Crop: Wheat/dowses. SP 587 994 An old style quintuplet with a large 63-64ft central circle (ACW) and 4 smaller satellites average 15.5ft diameter. The top and bottom members were ACW and the left and right CW. The formation was situated on a steep slope (Richmond Hill) and was about 400 yards up from the B480 road. It was first seen from a house in Stadhampton and could also be spotted from 2 miles south near Drayton St Leonard.
At the time the crop was very green and soaking wet so the floor patterns were not the best, although the small circle shown on the LHS had an almost perfect swirl. The ratio of diameters was 4:1 - the most commonly found. The formation was placed about a mile from the Garsington events of 1996.
The farmers as usual claimed to "know who had done it" without naming names. If it was hoaxed the circles were near to the side of the field but a long walk from the road and all 5 circles avoided the tram lines.
Comment by Jeremy Kay - Samples were sent to Jim Lyons for dowsing. He reported a negative result.
(2) WHITE HORSE HILL, UFFINGTON: SU 295 874. Seen July 6th Cr: Paul Anderson. Crop: Wheat/Dowses. The dreaded "smiley face" put off everybody from having a detailed look at the formation for 3 weeks. However the outer ring was found to be a consistent 67ft diameter and 3 small 7ft circles making up the "eyes" and "nose" had classic standing centres typical of some Wiltshire circles in 1996. The "mouth" flowed in two directions with raised crop at the dividing point.
This is the third occasion that a formation has appeared in the fields beneath the White Horse on the North Side in 4 years. Each time the work has been dismissed as a hoax, but who's kidding who? It's well known that the fields in question are open and in full view of the massed ranks looking down from the hill fort and in the Summer some groups hang around most of the night so the obvious inference can be made, but you would have thought someone might, by now, have made a circle on the South side by respecting the law of averages!
(3) NEAR BLEDLOW RIDGE, BUCKS: Formed July 11th Cr: Laura & Guiseppe Mazzarino Crop: Barley/Dowses SU 797 968. The emotive "swastika" was spotted by non-croppie friends who were driving in a random fashion across very narrow roads on the Oxon-Bucks border. They were sufficiently taken in by the image that they stopped their car for 5 minutes.
The formation was down a valley close to a bridle path, 200 yards from the road in remote countryside. The length was 55ft and width 40ft with a consistent 5.5ft channel. Cross-arms were inconsistent lengths. At first glance one tended to laugh it off, but the crop was laid really hard to the ground and the dowsing pendulum moved violently. Samples of crop dowsed by uninformed third parties also reacted. A second viewing after harvesting revealed the combine could not remove the heads in one arm of the swastika as if it was flattened so hard.
Nobody appeared along the path during the times we were there except the farmer and it looks to be used only by riders. Cars pass on the narrow road about every 15 minutes so this was certainly not an area here wild neo-nazis would be prancing around! The farmer's son claimed a similar swastika had appeared in an adjoining field of wheat in 1996. The area is full of large hidden houses - mostly very expensive - so who knows what is going on!
(4) NR TOOT BALDON, OXON : Seen August 4 Cr: Geoff Ambler Crop Wheat: Dowses SP 575 002. Pair of circles, one large with clockwise lay of three distinct sections diameter 54ft CW and small one at 27ft distance diameter approx. 8ft CW. Tramlines separated them. The big circle was designed with a 6ft wide radial flow at the outer edge and a 22ft wide radial flow around the centre, the rest of the area was spiralled outwards at various angles. The geometric and spiral centres were about 3ft apart. The circles were originally spotted from Garsington Churchyard about a mile away and were sited in a remote field about a mile from the nearest road. When examined there were no entry points found and the lays were immaculate. It is unlikely that anyone would find them other than farmers working close by (who were aware).
This formation was undoubtedly genuine and strengthens the belief that we have a real phenomenon.
Comments by Jeremy Kay: When I tried to take a picture of the smallest circle (the only picture I tried to take of the formation) my camera packed up completely and is now beyond economic repair. I do not know whether this is a result of the energies from the formation or my camera was about to pack up any way.
Kay - I sent seed and soil samples to Michael Newark for dowsing he got a negative result.
(5) BETWEEN BANBURY AND MIDDLETON CHENEY, NORTHANTS : Seen from the air August 9th Cr: Flight Observers from the O.C.C.C.S Crop: Oats/Dowsed. SP 488 413
This was a simple formation of 3 circles all CW, a larger 39.5ft diameter with two 13ft satellites about 20ft apart. We reached the ground position on August 12th, but the crop had already been cut the same day. Measurements were taken after harvesting. The farmer was totally unaware of the circles and was very interested in seeing an aerial photograph. The formation was about 100ft from a minor road but on level ground and behind a hedge so it is unlikely anybody else was aware of it. A busy intersection of main roads was close by and the M40 about a mile to the west. The position was just inside Northants.
(6) LONG HANBOROUGH, OXON : Formed July 28th. Reported August 9th, Cr: Ed Collis. Crop: Wheat/Dowsed SP 423 145
We heard about the formation from a local businessman, who had already viewed it. It was situated in a field at the bottom of a valley between Long Hanborough and Combe. A footpath runs through the field linking the two villages. Blenheim Palace is about a mile away.
The structure consisted of a dumb-bell with 2, 30-ft circles ACW and a 22ft x 3ft path linking them. The circles had varying flows - radial at the outside and spiral on the inside with the path running into the right hand side one. A strange triangle or arrowhead was surmounted above the dumb-bell. This was almost as long as the parent structure and certainly new to Oxfordshire. We were unable to get permission to enter before harvesting so the survey will not be too accurate.
Many people use the path and the field above to exercise their dogs, so there were rumours that youngsters had made it in mid-afternoon.
Jeremy Kay - Seed samples were sent to Michael Newark for dowsing. He got a positive result.
(7) FINMERE AIRFIELD near Brackley
Report by Jeremy Kay - This was reported to O.C.C.C.S on 9th August by a micro light pilot we met at Enstone Flying Club. He said he spotted the formation in early July. Geoff went to look for it but could not find it either because the field it was in had been cut or it was not visible from the road. Apparently it was in the field across the road from the fresh-hold of runway 28.