A New Forest monument marking the spot where King William II was killed by an arrow while out hunting in 1100
The Rufus Stone marks where William II, known as William Rufus for his red complexion, died with an arrow through him while hunting in the New Forest in 1100. By tradition the arrow was loosed by a companion, Walter Tirel, glanced off an oak and struck the king, though whether it was accident or murder has been argued ever since. What stands now is a three-sided iron pillar put up in the nineteenth century, replacing an older stone raised on the traditional spot in the 1740s, with the story set out on its faces. It is free to visit, tucked in the woods off the lane near Minstead, the village where the king’s body is said to have been carried on its way to Winchester.
