Hardwell Castle
Hillfort in Compton Beauchamp, Oxfordshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hardwell Castle or Hardwell Camp is an Iron Age valley fort in the civil parish of Compton Beauchamp in Oxfordshire (previously Berkshire).[2]
| Hardwell Castle | |
|---|---|
| Hardwell Camp | |
.jpg) | |
  Location within Oxfordshire | |
| 51.57844°N 1.58723°W | |
| Type | Hillfort |
| Location | Compton Beauchamp, Oxfordshire |
Official name | Hardwell Camp promontory fort |
| Designated | 18 August 1958 |
| Reference no. | 1017820[1] |
Position
Like nearby Cherbury Camp, Hardwell Castle 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.
Description
Status
The site is unexcavated and therefore very little is known about it. It 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 (3.2 km) from Uffington and 1 mile (1.6 km) from the hilltop Uffington Castle.