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<< Our Photo Pages >> St Catherine's Hill (Christchurch) - Barrow Cemetery in England in Dorset

Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 03 September 2011  Page Views: 10191

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: St Catherine's Hill (Christchurch)
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.552 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Dorset Type: Barrow Cemetery
Nearest Town: Christchurch
Map Ref: SZ143955
Latitude: 50.758921N  Longitude: 1.798628W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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St Catherine's Hill (Christchurch)
St Catherine's Hill (Christchurch) submitted by JimChampion : Northern slopes of St Catherine's Hill. This path leads up to a tumulus at the northern end of St Catherine's Hill, a raised area between the River Stour to the west and the River Avon to the east. The final part of the path is steep and well eroded and water has carved a gulley into the sandy hillside. Copyright Jim Champion and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)
St Catherine's Hill is a 35 hectare area of heathland and coniferous forest. It is the highest area of Christchurch and has most likely been used as a look-out and beacon since prehistoric times due to its commanding views of the surrounding area. Eleven tumuli or barrows surround the ridges as monuments to the succeeding Bronze age settlers and Iron Age farmers may have built the enclosure just to the south west of the radio mast.

It is located to the north of Christchurch and is bordered by Town Common Nature Reserve and the Wessex Way (A338). The Hill is home to a large number of important wildlife species and is highly designated.

The site forms part of a larger area of sensitive heathland that is jointly managed for nature conservation by Christchurch Countryside Service, RSPB, Dorset Wildlife Trust and The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC). Other parties involved include the Urban Heaths Partnership who provide supplementary wardens for the site. At 163ft (53 metres) above sea level.

Source: Dorset for you

Note: Walkaround St Catherine's Hill, Saturday 10th September and a fascinating tale of folklore and dragons: The Mystery Of St Catherine's Hill
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SZ1495 : St. Catherine's Hill, masts by Mike Faherty
by Mike Faherty
©2015(licence)
SZ1495 : Telecommunication masts on top of St Catherine's Hill, Christchurch by Peter Facey
by Peter Facey
©2008(licence)
SZ1495 : Christchurch: fire hydrant on St. Catherine&#8217;s Hill by Chris Downer
by Chris Downer
©2013(licence)
SZ1495 : Storage reservoirs, St Catherine's Hill by Phil Champion
by Phil Champion
©2006(licence)
SZ1495 : St. Catherine's Hill, reservoir 2) by Mike Faherty
by Mike Faherty
©2015(licence)

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 1.8km NW 322° Ramsdown Plantation / Sopley Common* Round Barrow(s) (SZ132969)
 2.0km NE 47° St Michael's Well (Sopley)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SZ1573596865)
 2.0km NNW 327° Sopley Common Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (SZ132972)
 2.8km WSW 252° Holdenhurst Long Barrow* Long Barrow (SZ116946)
 3.3km SSE 152° The Red House Museum* Museum (SZ1588292577)
 4.3km NNW 332° Hurn Forest Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SZ123993)
 5.0km SSE 153° Double Dykes Bowl Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SZ16609102)
 5.5km SSE 151° Warren Hill Round Barrow 2* Round Barrow(s) (SZ1704090688)
 5.5km ESE 119° Friars Cliff Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (SZ1917492825)
 5.6km SSE 149° Warren Hill Bowl Barrow Round Barrow(s) (SZ17199069)
 5.6km SSE 149° Warren Hill Round Barrow 1 Round Barrow(s) (SZ17269069)
 5.9km SSE 146° Hengistbury Head* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (SZ176906)
 6.6km WNW 300° Ralph's Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SZ086988)
 6.7km NNW 346° Barnsfield Heath (North)* Round Barrow(s) (SU127020)
 6.8km NE 52° All Saints Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SZ197997)
 7.0km WSW 245° Robin Hood's Barrow (Bournemouth) Round Barrow(s) (SZ07939256)
 7.0km WNW 290° Dudsbury Camp* Hillfort (SZ077979)
 7.1km NW 318° Trickett's Cross Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU095007)
 7.1km NE 41° Lugden Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SU18920091)
 7.1km WNW 296° Parley Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SZ07909865)
 7.7km W 273° Two Barrow Heath Barrow Cemetery (SZ0663495924)
 7.7km WNW 293° Dudsbury Hill Tumuli* Round Barrow(s) (SZ072985)
 7.9km WSW 249° Fern Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SZ069926)
 8.5km WNW 297° Ferndown Town Common* Round Barrow(s) (SZ067993)
 8.6km W 263° Poole Timber Circle Timber Circle (SZ057944)
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"St Catherine's Hill (Christchurch)" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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The Mystery Of St Catherine's Hill by Andy B on Saturday, 03 September 2011
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Perhaps the most mysterious site in the Bournemouth-Christchurch area is the site known as St Catherine's Hill. Few today know why it is so named: after a chapel that once stood there, built sometime back when the church was the major local landowner, with its administrative centre Christchurch Priory.

Off the tourist track, this 35-hectare hill overlooks Christchurch, the lower Avon Valley and the New Forest to the east and, to the west, what is now Bournemouth. Today it is a Town Common Nature Reserve, a place where local people go to exercise their dogs or horses, or just have a pleasant walk along the bridleways and footpaths that criss-cross the hill through its heather and birch and conifer woodland cover.

But it remains a slightly strange place, its pre-20th C. history largely unknown. Although only 45 metres high, its steepness, fortunately, has precluded normal industrial or residential development. The only modern additions are a pair of microwave towers and two concrete monstrosities - water reservoirs painted with graffiti of werewolves etc. But there remains no sign of any ancient native Neolithic, Bronze or Iron Age hillfort atop what would have been a natural stronghold. There is a set of low earthworks in one area – the Council website says that “Bronze age settlers and Iron Age farmers may have built the enclosure just to the south west of the radio mast.”

And nearby are the banks of a Roman fort believed to have held a small garrison manning a two-way signal station. The Council website also says the hill “has most likely been used as a look-out and beacon since prehistoric times.” This is probably because it is the highest ground for miles, and because beacons were put there in Tudor and Napoleonic times. (The two hills on its northern flank, Blackwater and Ramdown, are lower.)

Yet there is no evidence that in pre-Roman times it was encircled by a defensive ditch that could hold the populace and their herds in time of attack. (Maiden Castle hillfort for example could hold an estimated 4,000 people.) This is despite the fact the steep-sided 160-foot high hill would have been easier to defend than many places that did have hillforts, and it stood at a more strategic spot than most.

It commanded a view of the area just inland of Hengistbury Head and Christchurch Harbour, which archaeologist Prof Sir Barry Cunliffe has argued was Britain's busiest Iron Age port, the path and river route inland leading north up the River Avon to the interior of Wessex. The ancient route passed Stonehenge, which had an avenue leading to the Avon near the spot where Amesbury Abbey was built, and may well date back to the days when Stonehenge was in use.

All we know about the hill's human usage pre-1900 is from a few archaeological notes, a couple of references in church records, and a much-cited local legend. The evidence of this could be interpreted to mean that it was not fortified as a military site as it was a sacred one.

Read more at
http://www.south-coast-central.co.uk/n&q/stcatherineshill.htm
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Walkaround: St Catherine's Hill, Saturday 10th September by Andy B on Saturday, 03 September 2011
(User Info | Send a Message)
Christchurch Local History Society Walkaround: St Catherine's Hill
St Catherine's Hill Lane, Christchurch, Dorset

The Roman Signal Station on St Catherine's Hill was in use in 296 AD, during the reigns of Carausius and Allectus and the re-conquest by Constantius. The walk will also take in the Medieval Chapel site, and Neolithic and Bronze Age areas. The walk will take about 2.5 hours in total but the guide will leave you at the top of the hill where you are welcome to spend longer if you wish.

Directions
Meet at foot of St Catherine's Hill Lane in the unmarked car park at the junction with Dudmoor Farm Lane.
Opening Times

Saturday 10th September: Walk 1400
Pre-Booking Required

Please call 01202 888992 or e-mail dahw@edht.org.uk to book.

Max 30 people. Please wear strong shoes and stout trousers or other leg coverings due to brambles and uneven ground. The walk takes place on a Nature Reserve so please keep to gravel paths and No Smoking.
Organised By

Dorset Architectural Heritage Week
http://www.dahw.org.uk

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD007592E/
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