Castle Close

Last updated June 27, 2019

Castle Close is a circular earthwork located near Stoodleigh in Mid Devon, England at OS grid reference SS937181. It is described on maps as a settlement. Situated some 208 metres above sea level, overlooking the River Exe, it is most likely to be an Iron Age Hill fort or enclosure.

In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface.

Stoodleigh is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England, located 6 miles (10 km) north of Tiverton and 5 miles (8 km) south of Bampton. It is situated 800 feet (240 m) above the Exe Valley, close to the Devon / Somerset border. The centre of the village is a conservation area.

Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tiverton.

While the earthworks do not appear as pronounced as others nearby at Huntsham Castle, Cranmore Castle and Cadbury Castle they are still in a classical layout typical of an Iron Age hill fort or enclosure. These other Devon Hill forts are all in plain view from the centre of the enclosure, pointing to their all having been in use at the same time.^[1]

Huntsham Castle, Devon, England is an Iron Age Hill fort enclosure near the village of Huntsham, it is located 260 m (850 ft) above sea level on the edge of the former Parish of Tiverton. The monument includes a slight univallate hillfort situated on a prominent hill overlooking the valleys of two separate tributaries to the River Lowman. The monument survives as a sub-circular enclosure, defining an area which slopes gently down to the south and measures approximately 150m in diameter. It is clearly demarcated on all sides by a rampart which varies in height from 1m up to 2.4m internally, being generally of greater height on the northern side of the enclosure. Externally this rampart is up to 2.9m high. Surrounding the rampart is an outer ditch which measures up to 5.4m wide and 0.4m deep and this is visible on all sides of the monument, although it is predominantly preserved as a buried feature. On the north eastern side, the outer edge of this ditch is defined by a field boundary bank and the infilled ditch has been used in the past as a track. There is an inturned entrance on the north eastern side which measures 7m wide, and the inturned banks are up to 2.2m wide and 0.4m high. The enclosure is crossed by a parish boundary bank which measures up to 2m wide and 1.5m high, and has been partially cut at the north eastern corner by a quarry, approximately 20m long, 15m wide and up to 2.8m deep, which lies to the north of the entrance. A further quarry lies to the south of the parish boundary bank, on the western side of the enclosure and measures 8.7 metres (29 ft) long, 5.3 metres (17 ft) wide and up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. A third quarry lies to the north west and has partially cut into the ditch and rampart on this side; however much of this quarry lies just beyond the monument itself. A further entrance to the enclosure may lie on the western side, where the rampart is seen to kink slightly inwards. The stock proof fences around the rampart and ditch, the gates and gateposts which facilitate access, the Ordnance Survey triangulation point which is situated on the north eastern side of the enclosure just above the quarry, and the field boundary bank which defines the outer edge of the ditch in the north eastern corner are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.

Cranmore Castle is an Iron Age earthwork situated on a hillside above the Devon town of Tiverton in south-west England. Its National Grid reference is SS958118. It is an English Heritage scheduled monument, and has been given a National Monument number of 34256.

Cadbury Castle is an Iron Age Hillfort close to Bickleigh, Devon, England. It was later encamped by the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War under Thomas Fairfax when he laid siege to Bickleigh Castle.

Related Research Articles

Hembury is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and Iron Age hill fort near Honiton in Devon. Its history stretches from the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC to the Roman invasion. The fort is situated on a south facing promontory at the end of a 240m high ridge in the Blackdown Hills. It lies to the north of and overlooking the River Otter valley and this location was probably chosen to give good views of the surrounding countryside as well as for defensive reasons.

Hillsborough is a local nature reserve in Ilfracombe, North Devon. It is known locally as the sleeping elephant. It was bought by the local council in the late nineteenth century to prevent development on the site. As well as a pleasant coastal area where visitors may roam, it includes the remains of an Iron Age hill fort.

Dumpdon Hill is an Iron Age Hill Fort near Honiton in Devon. Somewhat overshadowed by its better known neighbour Hembury Fort it is nonetheless as impressive an earthwork.

Clovelly Dykes is an Iron Age hill fort or earthwork near Clovelly, Devon, England. Situated on the high plateau behind the coast at approx 210 metres above sea level, it is one of the largest and most impressive Early Iron Age hill-forts in Devon. It is a complex series of earthworks covering more than 20 acres (8.1 ha).

Belbury Castle is the name given to an Iron Age earthwork, probably a hill fort or livestock enclosure, close to Ottery St Mary in Devon, England. The earthwork is on part of a hilltop at approximately 115 metres (377 ft) above sea level.

High Peak is a hill which is partially eroded, resulting in a cliff face, on the English Channel coast to the southwest of Sidmouth, Devon, southern England. Its highest point is about 157 metres (515 ft) above sea-level. It is a partially eroded Iron Age hill fort, with pre-Roman and post Roman pottery found there.

Berry Castle is an earthwork probably dating to the Iron Age close to Black Dog in Devon north of Crediton and west of Tiverton. It does not fit the traditional pattern of an Iron Age Hill fort. Although the earthwork would seem to be an incomplete enclosure, it is not at the top of a hill, although it is on the south east slope of a major hill which peaks at 199 Metres above Sea Level.

There are two hills named Castle Hill within the immediate environs of Great Torrington in Devon, England. The first is within the town and is the site of the Norman & mediaeval castles, but was probably an Iron Age hill fort before this.50.9509°N 4.1436°W

Shoulsbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort close to Challacombe in Devon, England. It takes the form of a multi-ditch and rampart enclosure close to the top of a hill on the shoulder of Shoulsbarrow Common at an elevation of 472 metres (1,549 ft) above sea level.

Mockham Down is the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort close to Brayfordhill in Devon, England. It takes the form of a multi-ditch and rampart enclosure close to the top of the hill known as Mockham Down at an elevation approx 310 Metres above Sea Level. There is a smaller enclosure approx 2 km to the west on the next Hill at approx 265 Metres above Sea Level.

Berry Castle is an Iron Age Hill fort in the civil parish of Huntshaw, close to Weare Giffard in Devon, England, to the north of Great Torrington. The fort takes the form of an oval enclosure situated on a promontory in Huntshaw Wood some 95 Metres above Sea Level. Recent tree clearance (2015) has revealed that the 'fort' is rectangular in shape with entrances at either end, and may be a Roman camp or a local example of a neolithic sky burial enclosure.

Castle Head is a British Iron Age Hill fort occupying a commanding position on a promontory at the neck of a bow in the River Tamar on the Devon side close to Dunterton. The fort is situated approximately 100 metres above sea level, there is another earthwork due South lower on the promontory at approx 50 metres above sea level, and others on the Cornwall side of the river.

Holne Chase Castle is an Iron Age hill fort situated close to Buckland-in-the-Moor in Devon, England. The fort is situated on a promontory on the Northern slopes of Holne Chase in Chase Wood at approx 150 Metres above Sea Level overlooking the River Dart.

Roborough Castle is an Iron Age enclosure or hill fort situated close to Lynton in Devon, England. The fort is situated on the North East edge of a Hillside forming a promontory above a tributary to the East Lyn River known as Hoaroak Water at approx 320 Metres above Sea Level.

Bremridge Wood formerly part of the Domesday Book estate of Bremridge near South Molton, Devon, England, is the site of an Iron Age enclosure or hill fort. The earthwork is situated in woodland on a Hillside forming a promontory above the River Bray to the West of the Town at approx 175 Metres above Sea Level.

Newberry Castle is an Iron Age Hill Fort close to Combe Martin in Devon, England.It takes the form of an earthwork hillside enclosure close on an outcrop of a hill on the north eastern shoulder of Newberry Hill at an elevation 110 Metres above Sea Level.

Lee Wood is the location of an Iron Age enclosure or hill fort situated near to Braunton and Barnstaple in Devon, England. The enclosure is situated on a sloping Hillside forming a promontory above the Knowle Water at approx 120 Metres above Sea Level to the north east of Braunton and north west of Barnstaple.

References

↑ R.R.Sellman; Aspects of Devon History, Devon Books 1985 – ISBN 0-86114-756-1 – Chapter 2; The Iron Age in Devon. Map Page 11 of Iron Age hill forts in Devon includes Castle Close.

Coordinates: 50°57′10″N3°30′52″W / 50.9527°N 3.5144°W / 50.9527; -3.5144

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

This Devon location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] R.R.Sellman; Aspects of Devon History, Devon Books 1985 – ISBN 0-86114-756-1 – Chapter 2; The Iron Age in Devon. Map Page 11 of Iron Age hill forts in Devon includes Castle Close.