Monument Type(s):

• CROSS DYKE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2600 BC? to 43 AD?)
• ENCLOSURE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2600 BC? to 43 AD?)
• LINEAR FEATURE (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2600 BC? to 43 AD?)
• UNIVALLATE HILLFORT? (Early Bronze Age to Late Iron Age - 2600 BC? to 43 AD?)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: An Iron Age hillfort (one of a number in the area) which may have originated in an earlier fortification, Ratlinghope Hill Camp is a good example of a nationally rare type of hillfort, with a single relatively small rampart, and has an undisturbed interior.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4502 - Undated field observation
• ESA4503 - 1972 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4504 - 1987 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA6904 - 2011-12 DBA and walkover survey of hillforts in Shropshire by Shropshire Council and Herefordshire Council
• ESA4785 - 1992-2000 Summary Condition Survey of SAMs in the Shropshire Hills Environmentally Sensitive Area by English Heritage
• ESA10171 - 2023 Repair works at Ratlinghope Hill camp by Fearn Heritage

Description

End of south-pointing spur with valley on W and gully on E with steep slopes. On the N side ditch and rampart 10m wide and 0.9m high with ditch 5m wide and 0.9m deep. This work is situated upon the pasture-covered end of a south-pointing spur, with a valley to the W and a gully to the E providing very steep natural slopes immediately below. It measures 100.0m across and is bounded on the N. uphill side by a rampart, 10.0m in width, 0.9m in height, with an outer ditch, 5.0m in width and up to 0.9m in depth. The rampart fades out to E
and W upon reaching the steep, natural slopes and the remainder of the enclosure is bounded by a scarp, 8.0m in width and up to 1.5m in height. The E half of the ditch has been destroyed by a modern farm track.
The original entrance is from the lower end of the ridge through the S end of the work and is covered by a second, inner scarp, 1.0m high.
The work is dominated completely by steeply rising ground to the north so it was sited presumably for the easy, if not particularly strong defence, offered by the spur end. The strengthening of the spur at its extremities where it is most vulnerable indicates a settlement rather than a stock enclosure.
The general characteristics suggest an affinity with the probably EIA settlement nearby. OS FI 1972 <1a>

The rampart follows shoulder for 30m on E and 40m on W, with scarping continuing to southern angle of enclosure, but major gap on E side. The earthworks may have originated as a spur dyke, later adapted for use as a pastoral enclosure or settlement site, cf SA 187 <11a>
Classed as a promontory fort <11c>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, High score as one of 30 Upland Enclosures <19>

The monument includes the remains of a univallate enclosure, incorporating a cross dyke, situated towards the south end of a steep sided spur below the main plateau of Stitt Hill. The enclosure is roughly pear shaped in plan with maximum dimensions of 130m north west to south east by 110m transversely and has an internal area of just under one ha. The defences are designed to make maximum use of the topography. They are strongest around the north, where a well defined rampart and ditch cuts roughly east to west across the neck of the spur, separating the southern tip from the rising ground to the north. The rampart comprises a substantial bank 9m wide and up to 1.4m high internally, 2m externally. Orientated roughly east to west, it turns to follow the shoulders of the natural slopes to the east and the west, tapering out after 30m and 40m respectively. On its northern, uphill, side it is flanked by a broad based ditch 5m wide and 1.2m deep, which also tapers out on the steep natural slopes to the east and west. This rampart may be the earliest part of the earthworks and it may have originally functioned as a cross-dyke. This would then have been incorporated into a more comprehensive system of earthworks to create an enclosure at a later date. These boundary works, forming the remainder of the enclosure, are less well defined but remain visible. The west and south sides are formed by an artificial cutting back of the natural hillslope to steepen it and create a strong scarp 2.lm high. A change of slope at the base of this scarp could mark the position of a ditch, though this has become infilled over the years so that it survives only as a buried feature. Some 40m from the south west corner, along the south western side of the enclosure and facing the main valley to the south west, is an original entrance. It has the form of a pronounced break in the scarp, flanked on either side by pronounced terminals. The eastern corner of the site is visible only as a change of slope. There is no visible evidence of any habitation in the interior of the enclosure, which slopes gently from north to south. <20>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2008-2009. <22><23>

This site was visited during a survey of major later prehistoric enclosures in the region, in 2011-2012. The earthworks of this monument are relatively slight and it does not occupy a defensive or particularly commanding position within the landscape. It is overlooked by higher ground immediately to the north and offers restricted views of the valley to the south. With the exception of Castle Ring (Stitt Hill), it is not indivisible with any other hillforts. The classification of this site as a hillfort therefore seems questionable and farmstead enclosure would seem more likely. Site is managed in long term unimproved permanent pasture. A programme of earthwork repairs was undertaken and the stocking density reduced. The earthworks are now stable and grass cover has improved, resulting in a reduction in erosion over the past decade. <24>

Visited during a condition survey by the English Heritage Field Monument Warden, in 1992. Condition recorded as poor with erosion noted, especially from rabbits. <25>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.