<< Our Photo Pages >> Midsummer Hill - Hillfort in England in Herefordshire

Submitted by byll on Wednesday, 17 March 2004  Page Views: 16342

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Midsummer Hill
Country: England County: Herefordshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Ledbury  Nearest Village: Hollybush
Map Ref: SO761375  Landranger Map Number: 150
Latitude: 52.035384N  Longitude: 2.349817W
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.
 3 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
 4

Internal Links:
External Links:

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by byll : View to the south from just below the south rampart of Midsummer Hill (Vote or comment on this photo)
Hillfort in Herefordshire. The Hillfort is maintained by the National Trust but is part of the Malvern Chase, an area of common land managed by the Malvern Hills Conservators set up by a Victorian act of parliament. The ridgeline of the hills is kept clear of trees by the conservators.

There are few 'comercial' flocks of sheep and cattle run by commoners, but some are supported to browse the scrub that extends up from woodland on the lower slopes. Midsummer Hill has a steep slope to the west and a rampart running north south along the west side. The east side contains a valley and lower hilltop and is wooded. About a dozen people and a copule of dogs turned up to watch the sun come up here on midsummer's day 2010.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : More details from the info board at the Hollybush end about the Shire Ditch - it is now believed to be Bronze Age and not Medieval. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Standing on Ragged Stone Hill looking north at Midsummer hillfort - Midsummer Hill is the larger hill on the left and Hollybush Hill is the 'leg' on the right. The quarry can be seen on the right, the ramparts finish just above the start of it. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Helpful signpost on the path from Midsummer Hill to Hollybush Hill : ) (Vote or comment on this photo)

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : South eastern ramparts looking north. just over the earthwork on the left is a sheer drop to the quarry. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Southern end of the hillfort looking down into Hollybush quarry. Apparently Hollybush spring is situated somewhere under the lake, good luck finding that one.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Southern end looking west at the edge of the quarry.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Southernmost part of the site, the eastern side of the ramparts have been left overhanging the edge of a steep drop to the old quarry.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Western side looking south at Hollybush Hill. The whole site is like two hills side by side, joined at the northern side.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Western rampart looking south along the ditch. Hopefully the rest of the undergrowth will be cleared back over time.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Northern rampart looking west.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Northern rampart, some stone visible.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Northern edge of the fort looking south at Hollybush Hill, the second of the two hills within the boundaries.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Earthwork on the western side of Hollybush Hill, this is the second hill contained within the Midsummer Hill hillfort area, on its eastern side. The whole hillfort consists of 2 hills and a spring.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Good information board at the Hollybush end giving the history and details of the site.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Eastern side looking east at more earthworks and the second half of the hillfort.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Management plan of the area, this is probably one of the best maps of the area you will find, it shows just how extensive the site is. (1 comment)

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Eastern side heading south, the ramparts up to the top are on the right. This is not the extent of the hillfort though, it extends over another hill to the east.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Looking up at the northern entrance.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Northern entrance, British Camp in the background.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Looking north over the ramparts towards the British Camp.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Looking south over the top of the hillfort, the memorial shelter is on the left. On the right is what looks to be one of the many hollows in the fort thought to be the site of Iron Age houses, there is evidence of over 200.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : The hillfort was donated to the National Trust in 1923 in memory of Captain Reginald Somers Cox, killed in the First World War.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Memorial shelter on top of the hill. It was done in a good cause but looks very strange in the middle of a hill fort.

Midsummer Hill
Midsummer Hill submitted by HarryTwenty : Western side looking north towards the peaks of the Malverns.

These are just the first 25 photos of Midsummer Hill. If you log in with a free user account you will be able to see our entire collection.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.8km N 358° Walms Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO76053927)
 2.5km N 357° Herefordshire Beacon* Hillfort (SO75974003)
 4.7km N 8° Jubilee Hill barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SO768421)
 4.9km N 10° Holy Well (Malvern)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO770423)
 5.2km SW 226° Haffield Camp* Hillfort (SO72303390)
 6.7km SSE 151° Gadbury Bank* Hillfort (SO793316)
 6.9km W 276° Wall Hills Camp* Hillfort (SO692382)
 7.1km W 274° Redhill Wood Hillfort* Hillfort (SO690380)
 8.4km N 7° St Ann's Well (Great Malvern)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO77234579)
 8.8km NW 312° Bosbury Church Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SO695434)
 11.9km E 92° Towbury Camp* Hillfort (SO88003695)
 12.1km SSW 198° St Mary's Church (Newent) Ancient Cross (SO724260)
 13.8km WSW 249° Oldbury Camp (Herefordshire)* Hillfort (SO632326)
 14.0km ESE 111° Tewkesbury Abbey holy well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO892325)
 14.3km E 95° Chad Well (Twyning)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO90363617)
 14.5km NE 37° Kempsey Cross* Ancient Cross (SO8482149096)
 16.0km W 281° St Edith's Well (Herefordshire)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO604406)
 16.1km NNW 330° Stanford Bishop Church Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SO682515)
 17.4km WSW 239° Holy Well (Hole in the wall)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO6109028682)
 17.4km WSW 254° Capler Camp* Hillfort (SO593329)
 17.4km W 274° Backbury* Hillfort (SO587389)
 17.5km SSW 202° May Hill* Misc. Earthwork (SO69542128)
 17.9km E 86° Norton Stones* Misc. Earthwork (SO940386)
 18.5km E 86° The King and Queen Stones* Standing Stones (SO9456738632)
 18.5km W 263° Cherry Hill* Hillfort (SO577352)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Great Hetha Camp

Hoar Stone at Duntisbourne >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams on DVD

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams on DVD

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Midsummer Hill" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Midsummer Hill/ Raggedstone Hill by Jerryfn on Sunday, 05 June 2022
(User Info | Send a Message)
We live Nr the site. On the boundary.
Mapping the history. Someone has told me that the ancient name for the Raggedstone HIll was Picton Hill? (Spelling is fugitive.)
Anyone any confirmation from an old map or reference?

We have a lot of the history of the Wintercoombe that nestles in the valley.
Once called Wintercoomb Slad. It once had the Dyke crossing the field as the boundary field boundary and a ditch leading up to the evidence at the top of the hill.
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.