Woodbury Hill, Dorset

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Locationnear Bere Regis, Dorset
Coordinates50°45′9″N 2°12′17″W / 50.75250°N 2.20472°W / 50.75250; -2.20472
Woodbury Hill
The field where the fair was held. This is the view NNE along the ramparts of the hillfort.
Woodbury Hill is located in Dorset
Woodbury Hill
Woodbury Hill
Shown within Dorset
Locationnear Bere Regis, Dorset
Coordinates50°45′9″N 2°12′17″W / 50.75250°N 2.20472°W / 50.75250; -2.20472
OS grid referenceSY 856 948
TypeHillfort
Area5 hectares (12 acres)
History
PeriodsIron Age
Medieval
Designated6 October 1959
Reference no.1016042

Woodbury Hill is a hill near Bere Regis in Dorset, England. It is the site of an Iron Age hillfort (a scheduled monument[1]), and the location of an annual fair from medieval times until the mid 20th century.

The hill overlooks the Winterbourne Valley to the north and the Piddle Valley to the south; immediately to the west is Bere Stream. The irregularly-shaped hillfort has an area of about 5 hectares (12 acres). It is about 272 metres (892 ft) west to east and 410 metres (1,350 ft) north to south, and is enclosed by a single rampart of width 6 to 12 metres (20 to 39 ft); outside this is a ditch of width 9 metres (30 ft) and a counterscarp. The ground outside the defences falls steeply to the east, south and south-west. To the north, where there is a gently sloping strip of land leading to a northern ridge, a second rampart about 60 metres (200 ft) north of the main rampart provides additional defence.[1][2]

There is an original entrance on the south-west, through which a track leads into the fort, and an original entrance on the north-east; other breaks in the defences are more recent. There is a farmhouse within the fort. Many other structures, shown on the tithe map of 1844, were demolished in the 19th century.[1][2]

The medieval chapel and Woodbury Hill Fair

See also

References

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