ONLY months ago, few people had heard of them, but some of England's oldest monuments have suddenly become among the best-loved in the country.

Parts of the neolithic henges at Thornborough, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, date from 6000BC, but until they became the centre of attention because of a nearby quarrying application, their presence was a well-kept secret.

After a high-profile battle by conservationists, that has all changed, and now they have become among England's best-loved national icons.

Since January, thousands of people have been taking part in an online poll organised by the Government to find the favourite Icon of England.

The list began with 12 icons -Stonehenge; Punch and Judy; the SS Empire Windrush; Holbein's portrait of Henry VIII; tea; the FA Cup; Alice in Wonderland; the Routemaster double decker bus; the King James Bible; the Angel of the North; the Spitfire; and the song Jerusalem.

The public was asked to nominate other icons to be considered. A total of 523 nominations have been made and, although they entered the vote late, Thornborough Henges are in second place.

Another local feature to be nominated is Durham Cathedral, which is in 438th place, followed directly by the Tyne Bridge, Newcastle, in 439th.

The henges are ahead of quintessentially English icons such as the white cliffs of Dover, pubs, red phone boxes, Big Ben, cricket and roast beef with Yorkshire puddings. Fox hunting has been pushed into third place, despite a campaign by hunt supporters and, last night, only the English countryside was ahead of the henges.

Campaign group TimeWatch has led the fight against quarrying in the area and said it has been encouraging people to vote for them.

However, they say that the fact the monuments are ahead of fox hunting is significant.

TimeWatch chairman George Chaplin said: "Having entered the poll on February 16, it is remarkable that Thornborough is now above fox hunting, and the only thing that tops Thornborough is the very stuff we are fighting to preserve -the countryside.

"Thornborough is much more than just its henges. It is a complex of remains thousands of years old and, after being forgotten for so long, it is now an inspiration to thousands."

North Yorkshire County Council recently rejected an application by Tarmac to extend its quarrying operations in the area -a decision the company plans to appeal against.

Tarmac Estates manager Bob Nicholson said: "We do not need a poll to tell us about the importance of Thornborough Henges -they are a scheduled, protected ancient monument. Their status is beyond question."

The icons poll is at www.icons.org.uk