| Eggardon Hill | |
|---|---|
 Eggardon Hill from the southeast | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 252 m (827 ft) [1] |
| Prominence | 115 m (377 ft) [1] |
| Listing | Hardy |
| Coordinates | 50°45′00″N2°39′02″W / 50.75008°N 2.650572°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Dorset, England |
| Parent range | Dorset Downs |
| OS grid | SY541947 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 194 |
Eggardon Hill is a prehistoric hillfort on a hill in Dorset, England. It is located on chalk uplands approximately four miles to the east of the town of Bridport.
Eggardon Hill stands 252 metres (827 ft) above sea level and is classified as a Hump (hill of any height with a drop of 100 metres or more on all sides). The highest point is to the east of the hillfort, [1] (some sources give a height of 254m [2] [3] ). The hill provides extensive views of the surrounding countryside and the English Channel to the south. The southern half of the hill is owned and maintained by The National Trust (which permits free public access throughout the year) with the northern part in private ownership. [4]
The earliest archaeological features on the hill are linear earthworks which cross the interior. These were partially excavated during 1963-6 and found to be Bronze Age. There are also two bowl barrows within the area of the hillfort that were dated to the Middle Bronze Age. [5] There are also three further bowl barrows and a disc barrow on the top of the hill outside of the area of the hillfort. [6] [7]
The large multivallate hillfort dates from the Iron Age. The surviving earthworks enclose an area of approximately 21ha in total. The defences consist of three ramparts with two medial ditches with additional outer banks to the north-west and east. Ditches and counterscarp banks provide additional protection at the staggered entrances and to the south west where there is an additional outwork. [5]
The Hundred of Eggardon is first documented in the Domesday Book of 1086. [8]
The name Eggardon is derived from an Old English place name, meaning the hill belonging to Eohhere. [9]
The smuggler Isaac Gulliver (1745-1822) (who owned Eggardon Hill Farm) is reputed to have planted a stand of pine trees on Eggardon Hill, to provide an aid to navigation for his ships as they approached the Dorset coast. Although the trees were later felled on government orders, the octagonal earthworks used to protect them from the elements is still visible today and marked on Ordnance Survey maps of the area. [10]
The Hillfort and the two bowl barrows within it are a scheduled monument. [5] The group of three bowl barrows and the disc barrow outside of the hillfort are scheduled separately. [6] [7]
The southern half of the hill is owned and maintained by The National Trust (which permits free public access throughout the year) with the northern part in private ownership. [4]
Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, in the Blackmore Vale five miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The hill itself is a chalk outcrop, on the southwestern corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by the River Stour. It is owned by the National Trust.
Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia a short distance to the south-west.
Hod Hill is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The fort sits on a 143 m (469 ft) chalk hill of the same name that lies between the adjacent Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The hill fort at Hambledon Hill is just to the north. The name probably comes from Old English "hod", meaning a shelter, though "hod" could also mean "hood", referring to the shape of the hill.
Small Down Knoll, or Small Down Camp, is a Bronze Age hill fort near Evercreech in Somerset, England. The hill is on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, and rises to 222 m (728 ft).
Askerswell is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is sited on the small River Asker. It lies 11 miles (18 km) west of the county town Dorchester. The parish has an area of 1,724 acres and in the northeast includes the western slopes of Eggardon Hill, including part of the Iron Age hill fort close to its summit. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 154.
Coney's Castle is an Iron Age hillfort in Dorset, England. The name Coney is from the Old English for rabbit, suggesting medieval use as a domestic warren, as at nearby Pilsdon Pen.
Lambert's Castle is an Iron Age hillfort in the county of Dorset in southwest England. Since 1981 it has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on account of its geology, archaeology and ecology. The hillfort is designated a scheduled monument together with a bowl barrow, the sites of a post-medieval fair and a telegraph station. The site was on the Heritage at Risk Register but was removed in 2022 as a result of the Hillforts and Habitats Project.
Dowsborough Camp is an Iron Age hill fort on the Quantock Hills near Nether Stowey in Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Monument. The fort and associated round barrow has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register due to vulnerability to vehicle damage and erosion.
Kelsborrow Castle is an Iron Age hill fort in Cheshire, northern England. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age. It is one of only seven hill forts in the county of Cheshire and was probably in use for only a short time. In the 19th century, a bronze palstave was recovered from the site. It is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Ladle Hill is a 10.5-hectare (26-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Kingsclere in Hampshire. It is also a Scheduled Monument.
Scratchbury Camp is the site of an Iron Age univallate hillfort on Scratchbury Hill, overlooking the Wylye valley about 1 km northeast of the village of Norton Bavant in Wiltshire, England. The fort covers an area of 37 acres (15 ha) and occupies the summit of the hill on the edge of Salisbury Plain, with its four-sided shape largely following the natural contours of the hill.
Cornish promontory forts, commonly known in Cornwall as cliff castles, are coastal equivalents of the hill forts and Cornish "rounds" found on Cornish hilltops and slopes. Similar coastal forts are found on the north–west European seaboard, in Normandy, Brittany and around the coastlines of the British Isles, especially in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Many are known in southwest England, particularly in Cornwall and its neighbouring county, Devon. Two have been identified immediately west of Cornwall, in the Isles of Scilly.
Warbstow Bury is an Iron Age hillfort about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the village of Warbstow, in Cornwall, England. It is a scheduled monument.
Chalbury Hillfort is an Iron Age hillfort about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the village of Bincombe, in Dorset, England. It is a scheduled monument.
The Martin Down Enclosure is an archaeological site on Martin Down, near the village of Martin, in Hampshire, England. It is near the boundaries with Dorset and Wiltshire.
Thundersbarrow Hill is an archaeological site in West Sussex, England. It is on a chalk ridge, aligned north-west to south-east, on the South Downs north of Shoreham-by-Sea.
West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. It merged with Taunton Deane to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019.
Media related to Eggardon Hill at Wikimedia Commons| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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