Monument Type(s):

• UNIVALLATE HILLFORT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 43 AD)
• SPIGOT MORTAR EMPLACEMENT (Second World War - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: An interesting example of an Iron Age hillfort of a nationally rare type (large in area and with a single defensive rampart), Haughmond Hill Camp's distinction is that it appears never to have been finished.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4334 - 1977 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA4335 - 1981 field observation by Shropshire County Council
• ESA4336 - 1964 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA4337 - 1936 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA4338 - 1979 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA4339 - 1985 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA6527 - 2011 WB at Haughmond Hill Camp by SCAS
• ESA6904 - 2011-12 DBA and walkover survey of hillforts in Shropshire by Shropshire Council and Herefordshire Council

Description

An unfinished earthwork with an in-turned entrance to the south. The enclosed area measures 230 yds E/W and 130 yds N/S, rampart surviving on NW, S and SE. The NE side open and possibly protected by marshy ground. Rampart stands 8ft high on N <4a>

The camp is as described, now very clear after the fires of 1976. Most of the western part of the rampart on the north side seems to be a natural feature. I Burrow FI 1977 <5>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1, Medium score as one of 13 Large Univallate hillforts <10>

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a slight univallate hillfort, within which are the remains of an 18th century folly known as Haughmond Castle and a World War II spigot mortar emplacement.
The slight univallate hil is situated on the summit of Haughmond Hill, at the western end of this escarpment, from where there are extensive views over the Severn valley and the north Shropshire plain. The hill lies 100m north of a medieval ringwork known as Queen Eleanor’s Bower and 2.4km SSW of a slight univallate hill on Ebury Hill. Both these monuments are the subject of separate schedulings.
The hillfort on Haughmond Hill is an irregular polygon in plan. Its overall dimensions are approximately 155m north-south by 230m east-west. The rampart which defines the interior of the fort survives as a discontinuous earthwork incorporating the steep natural scarps and rock outcrops of the hilltop. The rampart around the south eastern part of the circuit is about 17m wide and stands to a height of 1 .8m. To the north, the rampart becomes less pronounced and survives as a scarp about 0.8m high. On the southern side of the circuit, where the defences run up to the head of a narrow steep-sided gully, the ends of the rampart turn inward to form an entrance passage about 5m wide. The rampart to the west of the gully is visible as a steep scarp, with the defensive line around the south western part of the circuit being maintained by the steep and rocky side of the hill: A natural scarp, 4.5m high, appears to have been artificially accentuated to form the rampart along the western part of the northern side. To the east of this scarp, where the ground is more level, the rampart stands to a height of 1.6m and is about 11 m wide. This rampart has a rounded eastern end and appears to be the side of a possible entranceway. To the east of this section of rampart, where the ground is mostly level, there is no visible indication of any defences. It is considered that this part of the circuit was never completed. An external ditch along the south eastern and north western parts of the circuit provided stone and soil for the construction of the adjacent sections of rampart. Although this ditch is no longer visible at ground level, having been infilled over the years, it survives as a buried feature about 10m wide. The ground within the interior of the hillfort is uneven and bedrock is exposed in many places. Some of the depressions here are probably the remains of quarries used for the construction of the defences.
Close to the western side of the hillfort are the remains of Haughmond Castle, a late 18th century folly , PRN 14309, and to the north east of the folly, on lower ground within the northern part of the hillfort interior, is a World War Il spigot mortar emplacement <11>

In late March 2011 a watching brief monitored the construction of a toposcope on the summit of Haughmond Hill, within the circuit of the rampart Haughmond Hill Camp. Conditions were dry and there was minimal superficial disturbance caused to the ground surface by the contractor’s plant. No disturbance to below-ground deposits took place. No significant archaeological features or deposits were recorded as a result of the work. During the course of the work, a single flint flake was recovered from the ground surface adjacent to a path some 12m to the north of the working area. <12>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2009 and 2012. <13><14><15>

This site was visited during a survey of major later prehistoric enclosures in the region, in 2011-2012. Haughmond Hill has been a popular with walkers and cyclists for many years and is now actively promoted by the Forestry Commission as one of their major countryside sites in the county. An easy access track was laid to the monument c. 5 years ago and toposcope has been installed within the past year. <16>

Sources

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