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<< Our Photo Pages >> Cley Hill - Hillfort in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 18 October 2011  Page Views: 45707

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Cley Hill
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Warminster  Nearest Village: Corsley
Map Ref: ST840448  Landranger Map Number: 183
Latitude: 51.202185N  Longitude: 2.230391W
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
2 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.
3 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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Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by Thorgrim : Iron Age enclosure, hut circle settlement and hillfort with later medieval strip lynchets. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Hillfort in Wiltshire. A freestanding hill with views in all directions, owned by the National Trust. Part has been damaged by chalk quarrying in the past. There is a round barrow on top.

Apparently orchids can be found growing here.

Note: Autumn Ascent of Cley Hill, 23rd October 2011 see comment.
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Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Viewed from Scratchbury Camp, Cley Hill and Little Cley Hill are an obvious feature on the landscape to the west of Warminster. Even from this distance (over 7 km) the round barrow, hillfort ditches and medieval strip-lynchets are clearly visible. The left-hand side of the hilltop is missing due to post-medieval quarrying. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : The round barrow and trig point in the distant left. Beautiful light, but it was freezing up there. Penetrating strong easterly wind. 5th April 2013. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : Standing on top of the barrow between the legs of Cley Hill. Some see the barrow as a huge nipple on top of the breast of the hill. Some have said it overlooks what would be the genital area. Which could it be? If it's both the lady's in need of a bit of support! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : Little Cley Hill and its shadow approaching sunset, 5th April 2013. Besides any geomorphology and anthropomorphic aspects of these hills, the shadows and the movements intrigue me. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by matgoonerowen : picture I took of a double headed Bee Orchid at Cley Hill in Wilts.

Cley Hill barrows
Cley Hill barrows submitted by JimChampion : Telephoto view of the larger bowl barrow on Cley Hill, from the summit of Little Cley Hill. This barrow is very prominent on the top of Cley Hill. It was partially excavated by Cunnington and Colt-Hoare in the early 19th century.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Medieval strip lynchets on the western side of Cley Hill. The risers, or scarps, are up to 4 metres high and the treads are up to 7 metres wide. The human figure above the leftmost riser gives an idea of the scale of these lynchets.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : Cley Hill and its shadow approaching sunset, 5th April 2013. Besides any geomorphology and anthropomorphic aspects of these hills, the shadows and the movements intrigue me.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : Erosion becoming a problem on the east side of the barrow. 5th April 2013.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : Profile shot of the north side of the barrow approaching sunset 5th April 2013.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : The barrow, top left, and strip lynchets, right.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by TimPrevett : The approach to Cley Hill from the car park.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Ramparts on the western side of Cley Hill, from the northwest corner. The trees on the horizon are part of the Longleat Estate.

Little Cley Hill
Little Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Looking down on Little Cley Hill, from the ramparts of Cley Hill.

Cley Hill barrows
Cley Hill barrows submitted by JimChampion : This is the slightly smaller, less prominent bowl barrow on the top of Cley Hill, centred on grid reference ST83864487. It is 1.5 metres high and 22 metres in diameter, positioned about 50 metres to the south of the large barrow and slightly higher up. The English Heritage record of scheduled monuments says that it was partially excavated by Sir Richard Colt Hoare and William Cunnington in the ear...

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : The southeast corner of Cley Hill's summit has been largely removed by post-medieval quarrying. The iron age ramparts in this sector have been destroyed by the quarry - now grassed-over spoil heaps and pits.

Cley Hill barrows
Cley Hill barrows submitted by JimChampion : A view of the large bowl barrow on Cley Hill from the southeast. This barrow is centred on grid reference ST83844491, 4 metres high and 28 metres in diameter. Looking from the west or east this barrow is very prominent on the top of the hill - perhaps suggestive of a nipple on top of the hill (depending on how your mind works).

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Looking towards the northwest corner of Cley Hill. The hill was an iron age univallate hillfort, but here the slope is dominated by a pair of medieval lynchets (the darker green strips). A well-trodden path shows the underlying chalk soil - the hill is a chalk outlier of Salisbury Plain, surrounded by clay. The Cley Hill trig point is just visible top right.

Little Cley Hill
Little Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : Two-photo composite showing the conical 'sister hill' - logically called Little Cley Hill - from the ramparts of Cley Hill. The darker green region in the centre of the picture is longer grass growing on the saddle between the two hills.

Cley Hill
Cley Hill submitted by JimChampion : A three-photo composite of Cley Hill, from "Little Cley Hill" to the northeast, connected to the main hill by a saddle. This is an impressive piece of geomorphology, a chalk outlier of Salisbury Plain, with some human-added trimmings (the ramparts, lynchets and barrows).

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.1km S 170° Nutball Stone Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST842437)
 3.7km ENE 67° Arn Hill barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST874462)
 3.7km ENE 67° Arn Hill Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST87444623)
 4.0km ENE 65° Warminster Round Barrow(s) (ST87674647)
 4.0km ENE 79° Cop Heap Round Barrow(s) (ST87984558)
 4.1km ENE 58° Colloway Clump Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST87464695)
 4.1km NE 56° Arn Hill Long Barrow Long Barrow (ST874471)
 4.4km ESE 124° Robin Hood's Bower Ancient Village or Settlement (ST87684234)
 5.3km E 98° Boreham Mill Barrows Round Barrow(s) (ST89274400)
 5.4km ESE 122° Sutton Common Henge* Henge (ST88544194)
 5.7km E 93° King Barrow (Warminster) Long Barrow (ST8975044477)
 5.8km E 83° Battlesbury Bowl barrow 2 Round Barrow(s) (ST89774544)
 5.8km E 84° Battlesbury hillfort Barrows Round Barrow(s) (ST898454)
 5.8km E 84° Battlesbury bowl barrow 3 Round Barrow(s) (ST898454)
 5.8km E 83° Battlesbury Bowl Barrow 1 Round Barrow(s) (ST89804545)
 5.8km E 82° Battlesbury Camp* Hillfort (ST898456)
 5.9km ENE 67° Mancombe Down Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (ST89494710)
 6.7km ENE 69° Warminster Long Barrow Long Barrow (ST90244717)
 6.8km E 89° Middle Hill* Round Barrow(s) (ST908449)
 6.9km ENE 68° Oxendean Down barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST904474)
 6.9km ENE 67° Warminster Bowl Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST90384747)
 6.9km ENE 67° Oxendean Down Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST90404746)
 7.0km SW 214° Town Well (Maiden Bradley) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST8010039028)
 7.0km WNW 296° Holy Well (Frome)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST777479)
 7.0km ENE 64° Oxendean Bottom Barrow Round Barrow(s) (ST90314788)
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Re: Cley Hill by Hatty on Saturday, 29 December 2018
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Completely agree with Anonymous' comment about non-evidenced Celtic placenames. Here, cley is indisputably an English word, spelling notwithstanding.
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Re: Cley Hill by Anonymous on Saturday, 29 December 2018
I will have to say Little Cley Hill hasn’t been correctly excavated as this is clearly a huge burial chamber! It doesn’t form part of the natural landscape and needs an extensive dig on it !!
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    Re: Cley Hill by Anonymous on Monday, 31 August 2020
    What are you on about?!
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Autumn Ascent of Cley Hill, 23rd October 2011 by coldrum on Tuesday, 18 October 2011
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Autumn Ascent of Cley Hill, 23rd October 2011

Autumn Ascent of Cley Hill

Join the Ranger and explore this dramatic Iron Age hill fort which crowns a chalk summit. Not only is it rich in archaeology and wildlife, it also delivers sweeping views across the surrounding countryside from Longleat to Salisbury Plain.


A 2km long guided walk across the chalk grassland of Cley Hill located near Warminster in the Cranbourne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The walk will allow you to take in the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and learn about the 4000 years of history, some of which is still evident in the sites archaeological remains. This event is part of the National Trust 2011 Walking Festival.

More Information: Sarah Hobbs, 01672 539167,
wiltshirecountryside@nationaltrust.org.uk

Sunday, 23 October 2011 10:30 am - 12:30 pm Donations welcome,
No Additional charges

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-events/w-events-find_event.htm?regionid=1
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Re: Cley Hill by coldrum on Tuesday, 06 April 2010
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Street View


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Re: Cley Hill by coldrum on Friday, 07 August 2009
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Pastscape site entry:

https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=207638
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Re: Cley Hill by AngieLake on Monday, 06 April 2009
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'Clai' does appear as [English] 'Clay' in my Welsh dictionary.
'Cler' interestingly = 'Bards'or 'itinerant minstrels'.
'Claddfa' = Burial ground'
'Claer' = 'Clear, Bright, Shining'

I've got a pocket Gaelic dictionary, too, and these may be helpful (though there are no Clai or Clee words):
'Clachan' = Stone
'Cladh'/ 'na cladhan' = Graveyard
'Claidheimh' = Sword
'Claigionn'/ 'na Claignean' = Skull
'Clann' = Children
'Clar' = Record, disc
'Clarsach' = Harp
'Cleasachd' = Exercising, Sport, Play
'Cleoc'/ na Cleocannan' = Cloak
'Cli' = Left (hand side)
[I've picked the more likely meanings here, as there were a couple of other words in that list.]

In my pocket Cornish dictionary:
'Clegar' = Crag or Precipice
'Cler' = Clear
'Cles' = Warm
'Clog' = Cliff
'Clos' = Enclosure, refuge
'Clun' = Pasture

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Re: Cley Hill by Anonymous on Sunday, 05 April 2009
Where does anyone get the idea that Cleis is a Celtic word? It does not show up in any modern Welsh/Irish/proto-Celtic etc dictionary. The Oxford Dictionary of British Place-Names (not always as reliable a source as you might imagine) attributes Clee etc (for example in Cleethorpes) to an old English version of modern clay. As far as I can tell, this is one of those bogus "Celtic" etymologies that so much contaminate south and east England and have no business surviving in the 21st century. I have yet to see a single "Celtic" place name in eastern England that is really solidly based.

Having said that, the word Cray does mean chalk.

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Re: Cley Hill by JimChampion on Friday, 11 May 2007
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From The Ancient History of Wiltshire by Sir Richard Colt Hoare (published 1812) Chapter No. 4 - Station 2: Warminster.
Further eastward, and nearer Warminster, are two very singular knolls, which form a very conspicuous and beautiful object from every part of the adjacent country. They bear the name of CLEE or CLAY HILLS*. They differ considerably in size, and rise very boldly from the surrounding plain. The larger hill is surrounded by a ditch and rampart, bearing the marks of high antiquity.+ Its form is like that of a cone with an obtuse head; that of the lesser hill is drawn more to a point. On the summit of the larger hill are two barrows, both of which I have caused to be opened. The largest produced no evidence of its having been destined to sepulchral purposes. Near the bottom of it we found some ears of wheat undecayed, and the soil of which the barrow was composed had fragments of pottery, charred wood and ashes intermixed with it, which may be accounted for by supposing that this eminence was inhabited by the Britons previous to the formation of their mound, which, perhaps in later times, was made use of as a beacon. The adjoining barrow was certainly sepulchral, and originally contained an interment of burned human bones, which, upon opening it, we found had been very disturbed.

* I imagine their appellation is derived from the Celtic word Cleis, which signifies Chalk, of which material these hills are formed. There are also in Shropshire hills bearing the name of Clea, and upon them the remains of an ancient camp, and beneath them the village of Cleybury.

+ Bishop Gibson, in his edition of Camden, says that “Clay-hill shews no marks of any trenches,” a proof that he, like many other writers on topography, never visited the place he described; which will be evidently proved by the annexed view of Clay-hill, in which the ramparts are decidedly and correctly marked.

Engraving of the camp's plan on Wiltshire County Council's website.
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