Bleasdale Circle was discovered in 1898 by Messrs. Thomas Kelsall and Shadrach Jackson and excavated by them in the period 1898–1900, their work being reported upon by Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins in the Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society of 1900. Upon the conclusion of these excavations the site was planted with conifers and rhododendrons, and the posts of the inner ring (pl. XLVI) were raised to the surface of the ground adjacent to their original holes (pl. XLIII, 1). In 1925, when the site was scheduled as an Ancient Monument, these oak posts had almost completely rotted and the site had become covered with dense undergrowth. Since it was suspected that the published plans were not strictly accurate, and as it was known that the whole of the site had not been excavated, it was decided to combine re-excavation with an attempt at preservation of what was left of the circle. A ‘Bleasdale Preservation Committee’ was formed, and with funds raised by public subscription the work of re-excavation was carried out under the direction of the author in the Easters of 1933–5, by kind permission of the owner, Mr. W. J. Sharp, the tenant, Mr. Edward Kelsall (son of the original discoverer), and H.M. Office of Works.