Hardwell Castle

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Hardwell Castle
Hardwell Camp
Hardwell Camp - panoramio - ian freeman (3).jpg
TypeHillfort
Location Compton Beauchamp, Oxfordshire
Coordinates 51°34′42″N1°35′14″W / 51.57844°N 1.58723°W / 51.57844; -1.58723 Coordinates: 51°34′42″N1°35′14″W / 51.57844°N 1.58723°W / 51.57844; -1.58723
Official nameHardwell Camp promontory fort
Designated18 August 1958
Reference no.1017820 [1]
Oxfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Hardwell Castle in Oxfordshire

Hardwell Castle or Hardwell Camp is an Iron Age valley fort in the civil parish of Compton Beauchamp in Oxfordshire (previously Berkshire). [2]

Contents

Site nature

Like nearby Cherbury Camp, it is not clearly in a strategic or easily defended position. It lies halfway down the scarp slope of the White Horse Hills and is tucked away in a curve, invisible from most angles. This particular positioning suggests its builders had a specialist purpose in mind, although exactly what that may have been remains a mystery. It is also surrounded by a double vallum: its dimensions 140 by 180 ft. [3] It is 'multi-vallate', like Cherbury Camp. It is unexcavated and therefore very little is known about it. The site is described as a promontory fort by Historic England, and has been a Scheduled Monument since 1958. [1]

Location

The site is at grid reference SU287867 in the Vale of White Horse, very close to the small settlements of both Compton Beauchamp and Knighton, 2 miles from Uffington and 1 mile from the hilltop Uffington Castle.

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References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Hardwell Camp promontory fort (1017820)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. "Hardwell Camp [Hardwell Castle] Hillfort". The Megalithic Portal. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. A Handbook for Travellers in Berks, Bucks, and Oxfordshire: Including a Particular Description of the University and City of Oxford and the Descent of the Thames to Maidenhead and Windsor. London: J. Murray. 1872. p. 52.