Monument Type(s):

• FINDSPOT (Early Iron Age to Roman - 800 BC to 410 AD)
• MULTIVALLATE HILLFORT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 43 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: A well-preserved example of a nationally rare type of Iron Age hillfort, large enough to have been a centre of permanent occupation and with multiple ramparts, The Walls gets its name from the surviving prehistoric revetment walls incorporated into its defences. It appears to have been an important site to the Cornovii (an Iron Age tribe), lying close to the edge of their territory, and finds show that it may have continued in use into the Roman period.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA471 - 1972 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA472 - 1979 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA473 - 1979 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA474 - 1981 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA475 - 1982 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA6904 - 2011-12 DBA and walkover survey of hillforts in Shropshire by Shropshire Council and Herefordshire Council
• ESA9331 - 2020 WB on construction of replacement dwelling, The Walls, Chesterton, Bridgnorth by Castlering Archaeology

Description

An Iron Age Hillfort situated at the confluence of two streams. It is defended on the north and west by a bank and ditch, on the north east by a rampart on the crest of the slope, and on the south by the precipitous hillside. The defences are strongest on the north, where the bank rises ten feet above the interior and descends twenty six feet into a nine feet ditch. There is a simple entrance, possibly original, in the middle of the north side, and a modern opening at its eastern end. A tongue of land at the junction of the streams to the south east, separated from the main fort by a bank thirteen feet high, is approached by a path from the stream to the south. Classified by Forde -Johnston as a single enclosure hillfort. Several Roman coins (PRN 29258) and a gold ring (PRN 29259) set with lapis lazuli and of uncertain date constitute the only objects found within the enclosure [<1b>].->

-> The Walls is an Iron Age hillfort of 22 acres, which remains generally as described by Forde-Johnston [<1b>], except that the ditch on the north has been smoothed by ploughing. The interior of the main enclosure is regularly cultivated and the annexe, the rampart and the slopes are covered by trees and undergrowth; dense in places. Traces of a modern stone wall run along the bank, particularly on the east side. OS FI 1979 <1>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, High score as one of 13 Large Univallate hillforts <11>

Scheduling revised in 2003. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the earthwork, standing structural and buried remains of a large multivallate hillfort, known as The Walls. It occupies a slightly elevated position, in an area of undulating land, within an angled, steep-sided bend of the Stratford Brook, a tributary of the River Worfe. The hillfort is thought to lie close to the south eastern margin of the pre-Roman Iron Age tribal territory of the Cornovii. ->

-> The Walls hillfort is roughly D-shaped in plan. Its overall dimensions are about 340m north-south by 620m north west-south east. The defensive circuit encloses an area of approximately 9.5ha. Its size indicates that it was occupied by a very large community where centralised economic and social activities were practiced, including the storage and redistribution of food and the performing of ceremonies. The interior of the hillfort is defined by a single rampart with steep external and internal faces. The back of the rampart has been reduced in height by ploughing along much of the southern side. An outer rampart was constructed on the western side of the hillfort. This also has a steep outer face and is separated from the inner rampart by a rock-cut ditch. Along the southern and eastern parts of the circuit the rampart is bounded externally by natural cliffs formed by the Stratford Brook. These cliffs formed additional lines of defence, and in places they have been quarried in order to enhance their defensive appearance. Around the northern and western parts of the circuit the rampart is bounded by a broad external ditch, which has been largely infilled and is now mainly visible as a shallow depression. It will, however, survive well as a buried feature. The original entrance passage into the interior of the hillfort lies to the west of the mid-point on the northern side. To the east of the entrance, the external ditch has been recut and partially modified by modern drainage channels. Along parts of the inner and outer faces of the recut ditch, revetment walls are visible. They are built of roughly coursed sandstone blocks and stand to a height of 0.7m. A wall faced in a similar manner, with a core of river cobbles and sandstone blocks, was constructed on top of the rampart which defines the interior. The wall, which now survives as discontinuous lengths and is partly embanked, is between 2.3m and 3.5m wide and stands up to lm in height. This wall, or breastwork, was noted by JB Blakeway, an antiquarian, in the early 19th century. All these walls are considered to be contemporary with the occupation of the hillfort and probably gave it its name. ->

-> An annexe was created on the lower spur of land to the south east of the main area of the hillfort. It is defined on its south western, eastern and north eastern sides by scarps with steep outer faces and rock-cut bases. It is separated from the main area of the interior by a rampart, which is bounded in part by an external rock-cut ditch. Access to the annexe was via a gap in the rampart, about 6m wide. At the base of the southern tip of the annex, adjacent to vertically cut rock faces, is a short flight of rock-cut steps. Around the defensive circuit other flights of steps have been recorded in the past. It is considered that these features were used to provide access to parts of the circuit during the construction of the defences. ->

-> Since the 17th century much of the interior of the fort has been cultivated, and finds of Roman coins here, noted by an early 19th century antiquarian, may indicate that occupation continued into the Roman period. ->

-> A number of features are excluded from the scheduling. These are: The Walls bungalow, the surface of the modern farm track, all gate and fence posts and iron railings; however, the ground beneath all these features is included. <12>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2009. <13><14>

The site was visited during a survey of major later prehistoric enclosures in the region, in 2011-2012. Whole of the interior of the site is under intensive arable cultivation, which includes a potato rotation. The ramparts are managed under mature woodland, which has an understory of scrub in places. The interior of the annex has been colonised by secondary woodland and scrub, some off which was in the process of being selectively felled at the time of the site visit (birch only). Evidence for extensive rabbit burrowing on sections of the rampart where scrub is providing cover. <15>

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in 2020 during groundworks in association with the erection of a replacement dwelling following demolition of that existing at 'The Walls', lying at the very northern extent of the Scheduled Area. Throughout the site work, only natural geological layers were revealed and no archaeological features or artefacts were uncovered. <16>

Sources

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