More information : Holne Chase Castle [O.E.] [SX 7244 7190]. (1)
Holne Chase Castle comprises some 3 1/2 acres. The defence
consists of a rampart and outer ditch, the former extant for
three fourths of the circumference. The defences are strongest
on the south. There is an entrance in the S.W. corner where the
rampart inturns, and in the opposite end of the rampart is a
circular excavation. This is 22 ft. in diameter at the top and
is lined with a dry stone wall, with an opening towards the
entrance. (a)
J. S. Amery quotes the above but says of the gap in the S.W.
that it is uncertain whether an original entrance or a later
mutilation. (b)
Of a potsherd found in Holne Chase Castle it is simply recorded
that it "appears to be the bottom of an earthen jar." (c)
Apart from the S.W. entrance there is a minor entrance at the
S.E. protected by the broadened ends of the rampart. (d)
Hillfort; entrance simple. A cut through is probably recent
with a quarry hole in outside of rampart. (e) (2)
Both gaps in the defences, S.W. and S.E., are probably original
but that to the S.W. has been badly mutilated by quarrying.
There is now no trace of the dry stone wall recorded by
P. F. S. Amery.
A 25" survey has been made.
(SX 7244 7190) Holne Chase Castle (NAT) Camp (NR) (3)
Holne Chase Castle was surveyed by the RCHME in March 1996 at the request of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, following vegetation clearance of the hillfort interior. The hillfort was surveyed at 1:1000 scale and an earthwork plan, vegetation map and digital ground model were produced.
The defences comprise a rampart and ditch with a counterscarp present in the northwestern side of the defences. There are two original entrances, situated at the southwest and southeast angles. The southwest entrance is disturbed by quarrying. The sites of unrecorded antiquarian excavations were noted. Several heaps of stone lie across the interior and a woodland bank runs close to the southeast ditch. Full information available in the NMR archive (4). |