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I saw this series on Australian TV in the early-mid 80s, but it could have been made in the 70s. It was definitely British. It had a small number of episodes, possibly six or eight.

As with a lot of this type of show, the plot involved a kid or kids on holidays trying to solve the mystery of WTF was going on.

What I remember:

  • The mystery involved Celtic lore and a hammer that would give the wielder immense power.
  • There may have been an older guy who was an expert, possibly a Professor, in Celtic lore.
  • One of the locals was also an amateur expert in the local lore, possibly he was a druid in a cult. His day job was gardener or gamekeeper or something similar. He was the main antagonist.
  • Towards the end of the series, in order to gain the power of the hammer, the antagonist and another man (possibly the prof?) engaged in a duel. Before the duel was over the antagonist picked up the hammer and declared himself the winner. When his opponent objected that that was against the law, the antagonist declared "He who holds the hammer makes the law!" Turns out he was right and the good guys had a collective "D'OH!" moment.

That's not much to go on, but over to you...

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    Celtic themes? Children of the Stones perhaps...
    – Valorum
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 0:50
  • 1
    The Snow Spider?
    – Valorum
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 0:52
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    @Valorum definitely not The Snow Spider, that came out too late and the story doesn't match. It's not Children of the Stones either, although that seems much closer. There's no hammer, which was a major plotpoint in the series I'm after. Thanks for the suggestions though. I'll probably watch Children of the Stones now; it looks good and it's got Blake in it!
    – Moriarty
    Commented Jan 24, 2017 at 2:43
  • There is a comprehensive list of british children tv shows by decade on wikipedia. Take a look and see if anything jumps out. I'd advise looking at both 70s and 80s and in particular take a look at a show called Into the Labyrinth haven't seen it myself but the synopsis has possibilities. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    – skyjack
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 6:17

1 Answer 1

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The Moon Stallion, written by Brian Hayles (IMDB)

Set in the late Victorian era, the story tells of how the Purwell family travel to Wiltshire when the father (widowed at some point) is contacted by Sir George Mortenhurze, local squire and a former cavalry officer, to seek out historical evidence of King Arthur. Professor Purwell takes his two children, Diana and Paul, with him.

Arriving at the railway station they are collected by the squire's groom, 'Todman', and driven by pony and trap to his estate. On the way they briefly encounter the Moon Stallion, a white horse living wild on the moors, whom Diana is aware of despite her being blind. It transpires that the horse is the mystical messenger of the moon goddess and connected to the story of Merlin.

Diana and Paul, with Estelle the daughter of the Sir George, discover that Mortenhurse and Todman seek to capture the horse. Todman, who it turns out is a "horse warlock", desires the power it would offer him as consort to Diana the moon goddess, while the squire blames the horse for his wife's death and seeks revenge.

The fight and scene with the hammer remembered by the OP is at here:

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    Hi, welcome to SF&F. Can you include some details that show how this matches the question? The linked Wikipedia article (you can/should quote it, not just link it) doesn't mention anything about a hammer.
    – DavidW
    Commented Jan 18, 2022 at 15:30
  • Thanks very much! That's definitely it as the youtube link I've added shows. Turns out my memory doesn't match it very well at all, but the "he who holds the hammer makes the laws" quote clinches it.
    – Moriarty
    Commented Jan 18, 2022 at 21:11
  • @DavidW I realise OP didn't mention it, so it's not better than a "trust me, it's right". However, from memory, the hammer in question was that of the legendary smith, Wayland and the denouement was at Wayland's Smithy. So the listing of the actual place as a filming location nails it for me, which is just as well as the video is geoblocked.
    – richardb
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 6:49

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