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<< Our Photo Pages >> Woodbury Castle - Hillfort in England in Devon

Submitted by MattImpey on Thursday, 09 February 2017  Page Views: 24327

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Woodbury Castle
Country: England County: Devon Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Exeter  Nearest Village: Woodbury Salterton
Map Ref: SY032874  Landranger Map Number: 192
Latitude: 50.678182N  Longitude: 3.371408W
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
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 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.
5 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
4

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lauraaurora visited on 11th Jan 2022 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Silkscream visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 5 Access: 4.5

Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by Antonine : 2020 (Vote or comment on this photo)
Woodbury Castle, a hillfort in Devon, dates back to about 500 to 300BC and is situated on a high point of Woodbury Common. Today a road runs through the middle of the earthwork ramparts.

English Heritage improved the access in about 2009 and there are now steps up the steep rampart to be able to enter the hill fort without slipping. So easy to imagine the round huts and timber fencing. Although there are trees now, it is still possible to see across the miles of heathland - a perfect place to defend the community against hostile tribes.

There is a good car park and up to date interpretation board setting out the history of the fort, excavations and recent works. Highly recommend a visit - it was one of the highlights of my holiday.
Text by Vicky Morgan and Elaine from Hove, Sussex.

Note: Free Book: Anthropology of Landscape by Christopher Tilley and Kate Cameron-Daum, also belated news of the East Devon Pebblebed Landscape Project 2008-2012 and their already defunct web site (must do better!)
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Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by Antonine : 2020 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by MattImpey : Woodbury Castle dates back to about 500 to 300BC and is situated on a high point of Woodbury Common. Today a road runs throught the middle of the earthwork ramparts. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by MattImpey (Vote or comment on this photo)

Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by MattImpey (Vote or comment on this photo)

Woodbury Castle
Woodbury Castle submitted by MattImpey

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.9km E 90° Tor Barrow (Colaton Raleigh Common) Round Barrow(s) (SY05088737)
 4.8km NNE 29° Aylesbeare Common tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (SY056916)
 6.4km W 271° Topsham Museum* Museum (SX9673987646)
 7.2km E 101° High Peak* Ancient Village or Settlement (SY103859)
 7.5km E 85° Seven Stones (Devon)* Stone Circle (SY10758787)
 9.3km E 89° Sidmouth Museum* Museum (SY125874)
 10.4km ENE 67° Sidbury Castle* Hillfort (SY129913)
 11.0km E 83° Salcombe Hill Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SY142885)
 12.1km WNW 294° St Martin's Well (Exeter) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SX922925)
 12.3km WNW 296° Royal Albert Memorial Museum* Museum (SX922929)
 14.0km NNW 334° Dolbury Hillfort* Hillfort (SS974001)
 14.1km NNW 342° Holy Well (Broadclyst)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SS9914700962)
 14.4km NE 51° Farway & Gittisham Hill Cemetery* Barrow Cemetery (SY146962)
 14.9km NE 54° Ring-in-the-Mire* Misc. Earthwork (SY1548695932)
 15.2km ENE 66° Broad Down Stone Circle (SY172933)
 15.2km SW 226° Castle Dyke (Devon)* Ancient Village or Settlement (SX92147700)
 15.2km ENE 57° Farway Castle Henge (SY1606395499)
 15.5km NW 323° Nether Exe Cursus* Cursus (SX94079995)
 15.5km ENE 64° Broad Down* Barrow Cemetery (SY173940)
 15.6km SW 223° Lidwell* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SX924761)
 16.2km ENE 71° Blackbury Camp* Hillfort (SY187924)
 16.4km NW 315° Long Plantation Bowl Barrows Barrow Cemetery (SX9182199200)
 16.5km NW 314° Three Barrows (Devon)* Barrow Cemetery (SX915991)
 17.2km SW 222° Whitewell Woods Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SX913749)
 17.4km NW 316° No Mans Chapel tumulus* Barrow Cemetery (SS912001)
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"Woodbury Castle" | Login/Create an Account | 12 News and Comments
  
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New Open Access Book: Landscape in the Longue Durée by Christopher Tilley by Andy B on Monday, 09 October 2017
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UCL Press is delighted to announce a brand new open access book: Landscape in the Longue Durée by Christopher Tilley. Download it free from: https://goo.gl/2RFc2m

Pebbles are usually found only on the beach, in the liminal space between land and sea. But what happens when pebbles extend inland and create a ridge brushing against the sky?

Landscape in the Longue Durée is a 4,000 year history of pebbles. It is based on the results of a four-year archaeological research project of the east Devon Pebblebed heathlands, a fascinating and geologically unique landscape in the UK whose bedrock is composed entirely of water-rounded pebbles.

Christopher Tilley uses this landscape to argue that pebbles are like no other kind of stone – they occupy an especial place both in the prehistoric past and in our contemporary culture. It is for this reason that we must re-think continuity and change in a radically new way by considering embodied relations between people and things over the long term.

Dividing the book into two parts, Tilley first explores the prehistoric landscape from the Mesolithic to the end of the Iron Age, and follows with an analysis of the same landscape from the eighteenth into the twenty-first century. The major findings of the four-year study are revealed through this chronological journey: from archaeological discoveries, such as the excavation of three early Bronze Age cairns, to the documentation of all 829 surviving pebble structures, and beyond, to the impact of the landscape on local economies and its importance today as a military training camp. The results of the study will inform many disciplines including archaeology, cultural and art history, anthropology, conservation, and landscape studies.

Free PDF download: https://goo.gl/2RFc2m
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Woodbury Castle Restoration Plans by AngieLake on Monday, 11 September 2017
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"2,500 year-old Iron Age hill fort to be restored
The aim of the project is to ensure that Woobury Castle is removed from the at risk heritage register"

"Extensive restoration of a 2,500-year-old Iron Age hill fort in East Devon is about to begin.

Woodbury Castle, which dates back to 500 – 300BC, is characterised by its deep earthwork ramparts enclosing a level interior of approximately two hectares studded with deciduous trees, and occupies the highest point of the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths on Woodbury Common."
"...."
"Volunteers are being sought to assist with some of the work, and the Trust plans to establish a volunteer archaeological monitoring scheme to give local people with an interest in archaeology or natural history the opportunity to be involved in ongoing preservation work. The Trust is also planning on hosting guided walks for people to learn more about the site.

There will be several stages to the work: access to the site will be improved with new steps and deep erosion scars caused by visitor use on banks and ditches will be repaired under archaeological supervision."
"...."
"The work will also help to protect buried archaeology, including the remains of an Iron Age round house, which are at risk of damage from tree roots. Careful ongoing monitoring and management of the remaining large beech trees will help ensure the health of these specimen trees.

New information panels telling the story of the site with illustrations of the original hill fort and its inhabitants by Exeter based artist Jane Read will be installed, in addition to a sign at the entrance to the monument and improvements made to the car park.

Temporary barriers will be in situ for two to three years while the repairs consolidate and the vegetation re-establishes, during which time signs will ask people to avoid walking on the areas undergoing restoration."

See more of this 6th Sept report, inc photos and artists impressions of the Iron Age Camp at:
http://www.devonlive.com/news/history/2500-year-old-iron-age-429852

(NB: Devon Live website is a nightmare for advertising videos, etc.!)
[ Reply to This ]

Free Book: Anthropology of Landscape by Christopher Tilley and Kate Cameron-Daum by Andy B on Thursday, 09 February 2017
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An Anthropology of Landscape by Christopher Tilley and Kate Cameron-Daum (February 2017)

There is a smattering of thoughts about the various barrows and suchlike in the area (see our nearby sites list)

An Anthropology of Landscape tells the fascinating story of a heathland landscape in south-west England and the way different individuals and groups engage with it. Based on a long-term anthropological study, the book emphasises four individual themes: embodied identities, the landscape as a sensuous material form that is acted upon and in turn acts on people, the landscape as contested, and its relation to emotion. The landscape is discussed in relation to these themes as both ‘taskscape’ and ‘leisurescape’, and from the perspective of different user groups.

First, those who manage the landscape and use it for work: conservationists, environmentalists, archaeologists, the Royal Marines, and quarrying interests. Second, those who use it in their leisure time: cyclists and horse riders, model aircraft flyers, walkers, people who fish there, and artists who are inspired by it. The book makes an innovative contribution to landscape studies and will appeal to all those interested in nature conservation, historic preservation, the politics of nature, the politics of identity, and an anthropology of Britain.

320 pages
Open Access PDF - FREE
Enhanced Online Ebook - FREE
Hardback - £40.00
Paperback - £22.99
epub - £5.99
Kindle - £5.99

Download from
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/an-anthropology-of-landscape
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Free Book: Anthropology of Landscape by Christopher Tilley and Kate Cameron-Daum by Andy B on Thursday, 09 February 2017
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    The heathland’s bleakness, gorse, heather and trails are now appreciated.
    In her writing on the Pebblebed Project website, artist Priscilla Trenchard describes
    Tor Barrow as like being in Avalon: ‘I felt we were in a special place. It’s
    unfriendly terrain and yet it felt very powerful. Down below was all the
    greenery and I did feel we were up somewhere wonderful, and the connection
    with the group as well; it was very, very interesting’.

    That’s what I like about Colaton Raleigh Common. I look forward to seeing the
    next ridge and then you get to where Tor Barrow is (a Bronze Age pebble cairn) and there is the whole sense of arriving that I like’.

    Her feelings
    towards another excavation site at Aylesbeare are not as warm: ‘I was
    quite grumpy there. We all sat like we were on a beach, looking at the
    beautiful view but, I don’t know, it just didn’t have the serenity that the
    other places have’. She explains that this location was close to the road
    and she could see a few buildings, making it more connected to contem
    -
    porary life than the Tor Barrow, which felt more special with a sense of
    belonging to the project team.

    [page 276 - and no I haven't read it all - I did a text search for 'barrow' :-) ]
    [ Reply to This ]
    The East Devon Pebblebed Landscape Project 2008-2012 (RIP!) by Andy B on Thursday, 09 February 2017
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    Time for a rant that if their Pebblebeds project was so worthwhile perhaps they could keep the web site up and running!!!

    Fortunately archived here (minus most of the photos)
    http://web.archive.org/web/20151009051659/http://www.pebblebedsproject.org.uk/

    But see also
    http://www.pebblebedheaths.org.uk/

    http://woodburysaltertonnatureblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/woodbury-common-and-east-devon.html


    [ Reply to This ]
    The East Devon Pebblebed Heaths by Andy B on Thursday, 09 February 2017
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    The parish of Woodbury is rich in areas of particular landscape and habitat significance. The East Devon
    Pebblebed Heaths are part of the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Their lowland
    heathland habitat is one of the most important conservation sites in Europe, designated a Site of
    Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area.

    The known human story of the parish begins around 7000BCE with hunters of the Mesolithic
    period, through the Neolithic woodland clearance from about 4000BCE, and the Bronze Age
    creation of at least 26 round barrows on the Pebblebed Heaths between about 2000 and 1000BCE.
    These are the oldest known monuments in the locality and suggest that it was a significant
    funerary landscape in that period.

    Two of the barrows are important landmarks on the ridge of
    the Commons. Also prominent on the highest point of the skyline – and with exceptionally long
    views in every direction – is the early Iron Age hill-fort of Woodbury Castle. The extent of
    Roman presence here is uncertain. The landscape of farms and smallholdings, ancient field
    patterns and banks, sunken lanes and hedgerows is, however, of great antiquity. Much of the
    existing settlement pattern was established in Saxon times, when Woodbury acquired its name,
    and medieval strip fields still exist in some places

    Ref: Tilley, Christopher, (2010) Interpreting Landscapes, pp248-292, Chap 6, Sensory Experience on the East Devon Pebblebeds.

    Source:
    http://www.woodburydevon.co.uk/Woodbury%20HEAP%20review%20web%20final.pdf
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Woodbury Castle by Anonymous on Saturday, 19 January 2013
What an exciting discovery. How I would love to visit the area.

Charles E. Woodbury
Willits, California, USA
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Re: Woodbury Castle by coldrum on Tuesday, 30 March 2010
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Street View


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Re: Woodbury Castle by Anonymous on Sunday, 26 July 2009
Visited this site on 20 July 09. It's mindblowing. English Heritage have recently finished works to make access easier and there are now steps up the steep rampart to be able to enter the hill fort without slipping.. So easy to imagine the round huts and timber fencing. Although there are trees now, it is still possible to see across the miles of heathland - a perfect place to defend the community against hostile tribes.There is a good car park and up to date interpretation board setting out the history of the fort, excavations and recent works. Highly recommend a visit - it was one of the highlights of my holiday. Elaine from Hove, Sussex.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Woodbury Castle by Anonymous on Friday, 11 May 2007
Thank you Andy B for your comments, and your advice on who to contact regarding my query on Woodbury Castle. I have corrected the spelling mistakes and some of the gammer! haha, will have to see what kind of response I get now.
Nige'
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Re: Woodbury Castle by Andy B on Tuesday, 08 May 2007
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That's a touching story, I'm sorry to hear that. The people responsible should be tracked down and - erm - given a good talking to. They appear to be Clinton Devon Estates, you can contact them here:

http://www.clintondevon.co.uk/contact.html

They also have more on the hill fort here, including a uselessly small plan:

http://www.clintondevon.co.uk/the_commons/the_castle.shtml

[ Reply to This ]

Re: Woodbury Castle by Anonymous on Tuesday, 08 May 2007
Dear Sir.
Having lived in Exmouth for over 30 years and have always found Woodbury Castle a fastening piece of our history, it was something I wanted to show my family when we come down to visit the common. On a recent trip to the castle grounds with my younger son (bonding time together) he was full of enthusiasm and excitement at the thought of people living there many years ago, my heart was full of joy seeing his reaction and imagination working over time, we spent quite a while trying to figure out where the main entrance may have been, but has I have just been reading the ones which we thought might have been it were modern day entrances. When we were leaving we re-read the notice board which gave us some information, it also said that if we were to go into Woodbury Village Post Office we would be given a leaflet, my boy's face was a picture and couldn't get into the car fast enough to obtain the information which was on offer. But when we had got there and spoke to the owner we were informed that they have NEVER been given the leaflets and appologised, my sons enthusiasm just sunk from his face and was clearly dissapointed and so was I, I feel something should be done with this,-either 'mark' out the inscripsion on the information board or supply the Post Office with the leaflets.
I look forward to your reply
Mr Nigel Skyner
nigelskyner@tiscali.co.uk
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