<< Our Photo Pages >> Woodbury Hill (Dorset) - Hillfort in England in Dorset
Submitted by JimChampion on Thursday, 02 June 2005 Page Views: 15162
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Woodbury Hill (Dorset) Alternative Name: Woodbury, Woodbury Hill CampCountry: England County: Dorset Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Dorchester Nearest Village: Bere Regis
Map Ref: SY856948
Latitude: 50.752618N Longitude: 2.205493W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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This slight hillfort has a single bank and ditch enclosing 12 acres. It has two original entrances to the north and south, with an additional rampart outside the north entrance to strengthen a weak spot in the defences where the hilltop is connected to a nearby ridge. Originally there was an outer bank but this was quarried away for its gravel.
The site also includes the remains of a holy well and medieval chapel. The Bere Regis village website contains some interesing further reading and images about Woodbury's pre-history.
The hillfort features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels, fictionalised using the name of "Greenhill". In Chapter 50 of Hardy's 1874 novel Far From the Madding Crowd, the hillfort is the setting for the South Wessex sheep fair. He describes the location as follows: "This yearly gathering was upon the summit of a hill which retained in good preservation the remains of an ancient earthwork, consisting of a huge rampart and entrenchment of an oval form encircling the top of the hill, though somewhat broken down here and there. To each of the two chief openings on opposite sides a winding road ascended, and the level green space of ten or fifteen acres enclosed by the bank was the site of the fair. A few permanent erections dotted the spot, but the majority of visitors patronized canvas alone for resting and feeding under during the time of their sojurn here." The fictional fair was based on a very large and long-running fair held at the hillfort, from medieval times onwards - this is further described on the Bere Regis village website.
Access A small lane skirts around the SE side of the hill, and the ends of this lane join to the A35 road. There's not much scope for parking safely on this lane, so its probably best to find somewhere to stop in Bere Regis and take the footpath east up the hill. Fantastic views northwest across the rolling Dorset countryside.
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