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Summary

Castle Dyke an Iron Age hillfort in Ugbrooke Park with an outwork to the south. The ramparts and ditches of the earthwork are partly obscured by tree cover on aerial photographs of the 1940s and clearly visible on digital images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1003846: Castle Dyke camp, Ugbrooke
• Registered Park or Garden (II*) 1000705: UGBROOKE PARK
• SHINE: Castle Dyke Camp, Ugbrooke Park Camp or Round Field. Hillfort and prehistoric single ditched enclosures south east of Chudleigh

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 446639
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX87NE/22
• Old SAM County Ref: 170
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX87NE10

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HILLFORT (Iron Age - 700 BC to 42 AD (Between))

Full description

Woollcombe, H., 1839-1850, Woollcombe Manuscript (Un-published). SDV16214.

Hutchinson, P. O., 1848-1894, Diaries (Un-published). SDV339321.

Site visited in 1849 and 1853. Elliptical earthwork approximately 200-250 metres diameter. Outer curved earthworks circa 100 metres out on south side. Further south again is another earthwork running eastwards down hill to pond, then back for circa 60 metres in direction of main earthwork, after which it turns northward to flank east side of camp. A similar earthwork recorded on the north-east side. Plan in manuscript.

Hutchinson, P. O., 1862, On the Hill Fortresses, Tumuli, and some other Antiquities of Eastern Devon, 64 (Article in Serial). SDV338169.

Ugbrooke Park Camp has otherwise been known as "Castle Dyke" and "The Round Field". Irregular oval shape with maximum dimensions of 240 metres long and nearly 180 metres wide. Nearly concentric with camp and in advance of it runs a large curve of rampart almost as bold in places as main rampart, which measures 14-15 metres on the outer slope. No outworks on north and west sides since slope affords natural defence. Outworks possibly of much later date, perhaps built at time of Civil War.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Castle Dyke (Camp)' shown on 19th century map with 'Vallum' earthwork to the south..

Amery, P. F. S., 1900-1901, A Tour across Dartmoor into North Devon by the Rev. John Swete 1789, 90 (Article in Serial). SDV18670.

Wall, J. C., 1906, Ancient Earthworks, 502 (Article in Monograph). SDV341465.

Other details: Plan.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 3061-3062 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

The hillfort earthworks are obscured by dense tree cover.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1412, RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 4061-4062 13-APR-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352504.

The outwork earthworks are visible under tree cover.

Radford, C. + Radford, C. A. R., 1949, Nineteenth Report on Ancient Monuments, 48 (Article in Serial). SDV25123.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1952 - 1953, SX87NE10 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV346755.

Castle Dyke or Ugbrooke Park Camp or Round Field. Two zones of defence, inner one being single bank and ditch enclosing elliptical area. Of the five entrances, only one is original. Outer defence is east-west bank with outer ditch and traces of large inturned entrance. Other details: Plan and photographs.

Ministry of Works, 1958, Castle Dyke, Ugbrooke Park (Schedule Document). SDV346756.

Castle Dyke in Ugbrooke Park is a fine Iron Age hillfort of south-west type with wide spaced defences situated on a ridge between the Kate and Ugbrooke valleys. The inner enclosure is circular, enclosed with a single rampart and ditch. There are two entrances on the north-east and south, and two recent gaps. The outer enclosure extends to the south of the inner: it is defended by a single line of rampart and ditch which extends along the contour from the edge of the Kate Brook scarp to end on the slope to the head of the Ugbrooke. The entrance is in the centre, marked by a deep inturn of the rampart on the east side. There are traces of another bank within the outer enclosure, suggesting an embanked entrance way, but reduced by ploughing. The condition is very good, the interior is now cultivated. Other details: Monument 170.

Gray, V. K., 1979, Castle Dyke, Ugbrooke Park (Report - Survey). SDV307852.

Site visited on 10th January 1979. Large circular inner enclosure with entrances on the north-east and south. There are some other more recent gaps made probably by horses ridden across the bank, but they are not very recent. The interior is level and cultivated. There are trees on the inner and outer enclosures. The owner has resisted proposals to carry the A38 road through it. He says that the soil on the top is poor and crops are no longer grown on it. The line of the outer enclosure is carried right round to the scarp of the hill in the north-east by an old driveway which has been made in the ditch.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/AL, 4-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDV283760.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, Untitled Source (Personal Comment). SDV346758.

Cropmarks of enclosures recorded in field between the main enclosure and the southern outwork.

Department of Environment, 1985, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV326559.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted for planting replacement trees.

Griffith, F. M., 1989, DAP/OQ, 1-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV224846.

Pye, A., 1992, Environmental statement on the proposed extension of the Heathfield landfill site, Kingsteignton. Appendix 4: archaeological assessment, 6 (Report - Assessment). SDV312426.

Griffith, F. M., 1993, DAP/XD, 8-11 (Aerial Photograph). SDV346759.

National Monuments Record, 1993, SX8778 (Aerial Photograph). SDV307862.

Evidence of tipping within monument area in 1993.

Fox, A., 1996, Prehistoric Hillforts in Devon, 26-7 (Monograph). SDV7958.

Department of National Heritage, 1996, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV307861.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted for the removal of silt deposits.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX8778 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Hillfort and outwork ramparts and ditches are visible as earthworks.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003, Archaeological Assessment of Proposed Development at 6 The Square, Chudleigh, 2 (Report - Assessment). SDV338022.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2004, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV307863.

Scheduled Monument Consent granted for works concerning clearance of scrub and removal of a fence subject to conditions recommended by English Heritage.

National Monuments Record, 2011, 446639 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV346760.

Iron Age hillfort in Ugbrooke Park. The circular inner enclosure surrounds a level area with a single rampart and ditch. There are two entrances to the north-east and south. The outer enclosure extends to the south of the inner with a contour following rampart and ditch. This is from the scarp at Kate Brook to the slope at the head of the Ugbrook. Its entrance is central with a deep inturn on the east side. There are traces of another bank within the outer enclosure suggesting an embanked entrance way.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

'Camp' shown on modern mapping with 'Earthwork' to the south running east to west.

Tilley, C., 2017, Landscape in the Longue Durée, 299-319, tables 9.1-9.5, figs 9.7-9.17 (Monograph). SDV361032.

Discussion of Woodbury Castle and the other hillforts in the locality, making reference to the East Devon pebblebeds.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2018-2019, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (Interpretation). SDV361305.

The earthwork ramparts and ditches of Castle Dyke Camp, a univallate hilltop enclosure of probable later prehistoric date, are visible partly obscured by tree cover on aerial photographs of the 1940s and clearly visible on digital images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017.
The rampart is visible as a bank up to circa 10m wide, enclosing a roughly oval area circa 245m by 170m in size (circa 3.3ha). The outer ditch is on average circa 9m wide. Bank and ditch are pierced at five locations, but the thickened and slightly in-turned form of the bank and ditch terminals might support the interpretation that the break on the eastern face of the enclosure is the only original entrance.
A very slight curvilinear bank visible crossing the interior of the enclosure might be evidence that the enclosure developed over two phases. This possible bank is most clearly visible on simple local relief visualisations of the lidar data.
An outwork is visible on the slopes to the south-west of the enclosure, as a bank circa 13 to 16m wide with a narrower ditch on the south-facing side. The lidar derived images reveal the bank to be circa 475m long, curving to the south-east from circa SX87177859 to SX87557852, first crossing then following the contours of the slope. The outwork ditch has been used as a track and extended to the south-east as a footpath. A narrower bank follows this ditch extension and crosses the shallow combe south of the outwork proper.
A second rectilinear or polygonal enclosure is visible within the area between hilltop enclosure and outwork from cropmark and earthwork evidence, recorded separately as MDV37463.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV16214	Un-published: Woollcombe, H.. 1839-1850. Woollcombe Manuscript. Manuscript.
SDV18670	Article in Serial: Amery, P. F. S.. 1900-1901. A Tour across Dartmoor into North Devon by the Rev. John Swete 1789. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries. 1. Unknown. 90.
SDV224846	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1989. DAP/OQ. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 1-2.
SDV25123	Article in Serial: Radford, C. + Radford, C. A. R.. 1949. Nineteenth Report on Ancient Monuments. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 81. A5 Hardback. 48.
SDV283760	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1984. DAP/AL. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 4-5.
SDV307852	Report - Survey: Gray, V. K.. 1979. Castle Dyke, Ugbrooke Park. Ancient Monuments Wardens Report Form. A4 Single Sheet.
SDV307861	Correspondence: Department of National Heritage. 1996. Scheduled Monument Consent Letter. Letter.
SDV307862	Aerial Photograph: National Monuments Record. 1993. SX8778. National Monuments Record Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).
SDV307863	Correspondence: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 2004. Scheduled Monument Consent Letter. Letter.
SDV312426	Report - Assessment: Pye, A.. 1992. Environmental statement on the proposed extension of the Heathfield landfill site, Kingsteignton. Appendix 4: archaeological assessment. Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit Report. 92.14. A4 Stapled + Digital. 6.
SDV326559	Correspondence: Department of Environment. 1985. Scheduled Monument Consent Letter. Letter.
SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV338022	Report - Assessment: Exeter Archaeology. 2003. Archaeological Assessment of Proposed Development at 6 The Square, Chudleigh. Exeter Archaeology Report. 03.69. A4 Stapled + Digital. 2.
SDV338169	Article in Serial: Hutchinson, P. O.. 1862. On the Hill Fortresses, Tumuli, and some other Antiquities of Eastern Devon. Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 18. Unknown. 64.
SDV339321	Un-published: Hutchinson, P. O.. 1848-1894. Diaries. Devon Record Office Collection. Manuscript.
SDV341465	Article in Monograph: Wall, J. C.. 1906. Ancient Earthworks. Victoria History of the County of Devon. Hardback Volume. 502.
SDV346129	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2011. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey. Map (Digital).
SDV346755	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1952 - 1953. SX87NE10. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV346756	Schedule Document: Ministry of Works. 1958. Castle Dyke, Ugbrooke Park. The Schedule of Monuments. Foolscap. [Mapped feature: #109152 ]
SDV346758	Personal Comment: Griffith, F. M.. 1984.
SDV346759	Aerial Photograph: Griffith, F. M.. 1993. DAP/XD. Devon Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 8-11.
SDV346760	National Monuments Record Database: National Monuments Record. 2011. 446639. National Monuments Record Database. Website.
SDV352504	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1412. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/1412 RP 3061-3062 13-APR-1946.
SDV361032	Monograph: Tilley, C.. 2017. Landscape in the Longue Durée. Landscape in the Longue Durée. Digital. 299-319, tables 9.1-9.5, figs 9.7-9.17.
SDV361305	Interpretation: Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R.. 2018-2019. The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV361470	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2017. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor. Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX8778 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017.
SDV7958	Monograph: Fox, A.. 1996. Prehistoric Hillforts in Devon. Prehistoric Hillforts in Devon. Paperback Volume. 26-7.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7515 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey (Ref: ACD1748)

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