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Stonehenge Sacred Symbolism - Ancient Beliefs in Britain and Northern Europe

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<< 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 Camp
Country: England County: Dorset Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Dorchester  Nearest Village: Bere Regis
Map Ref: SY856948
Latitude: 50.752618N  Longitude: 2.205493W
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
3 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.
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
3

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Woodbury Hill (Dorset)
Woodbury Hill (Dorset) submitted by JimChampion : June 2005. Looking northeast across the Bere valley at Woodbury Hill from Bowcroft Hill. Appropriately for its name the hillfort looks woody, although its interior is under pasture. The hill doesn't look too steep from this angle: it is much more formiddable when viewed from the north and west (from the A31 road). (Vote or comment on this photo)
Hillfort in Dorset

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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Woodbury Hill (Dorset)
Woodbury Hill (Dorset) submitted by JimChampion : Here's the eastern bank of Woodbury's defences: but where's the ditch? The answer is that there used to be a second, outer rampart, but this was quarried away for its gravel. The remains of the outer rampart and the infilled ditch form a broad terrace on the eastern side of the hillfort. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

coldrum has found this location on Google Street View:

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SY8594 : Thomas Hardy Locations, Far From the Madding Crowd (4) by Nigel Mykura
by Nigel Mykura
©2008(licence)
SY8594 : Bere Regis - Woodbury Hill by Peter Elsdon
by Peter Elsdon
©2009(licence)
SY8594 : Woodbury Hill water trough by Nigel Mykura
by Nigel Mykura
©2008(licence)
SY8594 : Woodbury Hill Fair field by Nigel Mykura
by Nigel Mykura
©2008(licence)
SY8594 : Hedge line at Woodbury Hill incorporating Triangulation Pillar by Peter Wood
by Peter Wood
©2014(licence)

The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
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"Woodbury Hill (Dorset)" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: Woodbury Hill by coldrum on Monday, 29 March 2010
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Woodbury Hill fictionalised as 'Greenhill' by Thomas Hardy by JimChampion on Wednesday, 02 January 2008
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Woodbury 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.
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