More information : (SX 726684) Hembury Castle (NAT) Hill Fort (NR). (1)
A kidney shaped earthwork consisting of two banks with a
Medieval ditch. Bronze axe and sling stones have been found in
it. (2)
An early Iron Age Camp. (3)
Hembury Castle is a contour-following hillfort. It is formed by
a double rampart which extends for the whole of the perimeter
though much of the inner slope of the inner rampart has been
destroyed. The outer rampart of counterscarp bank is weakest
on the north-east where natural slopes afford some protection.
A number of small causeways occur in the deep medial ditch. These
are not modern and may represent the limits of sections of work
during the original construction or subsequent deepening which
may have taken place during a possible Medieval phase of
occupation (see SX 76 NW 7).
The original entrance appears to be on the south-east and is of
simple type. Three other breaks in the defences, on the
south-east, north, and west, are of much later date and carry
footpaths in modern use.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (4)
Hembury Castle, a kidney shaped univallate hillfort that occupies the
SE shoulder of a southwards projecting hill spur at a height of 178m
OD. It has a motte and bailey constructed on the highest part of its
interior (See SE 76 NW 8).
Generally well preserved, the site has been partly cleared of trees
and scrub by the owners - National Trust. The site is now crossed by a modern track (see illus card, copy of archive plan at 1:1000). It
covers an area of some 2.8ha and is approx 250m E-W, by 140m.Its main
defence has been the massive ditch with inner rampart and
counterscarp bank of dump or glacis construction (for full
description see archive account). (5)
|