Carey recorded several examples of stone reverence in the Vale in the 1890s. In a field called Le Courtil-ès-Arbres, opposite a house called Sohier, Miss Falla's uncle wanted to quarry but was stopped by neighbours who pointed out "the folly and impiety of meddling with les pierres saintes". Beyond the Ville-ès-Pies, a field had been heavily quarried round its big stones, but the stones themselves were kept and now stood on an island of turf above the quarry pits. A cottage built on the site of St Magloire's chapel had been built round the old foundation stone because the builders would not move it.
The Houmière stone was the most practical of these beliefs. It stood alone in a hayfield, and the rule, learned "by experience", was that the edge of the field could be cut but the stone and its surroundings were left until the very last. If not, the weather broke in the middle of haymaking.
Carey did not describe the stone further, and it is not certain it survives. The Vale's many quarries have removed a great deal. The map point is placed at parish level in the Clos du Valle.
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