<< Our Photo Pages >> Bincknoll Castle - Hillfort in England in Wiltshire

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 15 September 2006  Page Views: 15172

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Bincknoll Castle
Country: England County: Wiltshire Type: Hillfort
 Nearest Village: Broad Hinton
Map Ref: SU10747933
Latitude: 51.512796N  Longitude: 1.846627W
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
 no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data 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.
 no data 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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Hordernm visited on 26th Jul 2021 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 1 Not easy to get to. We parked in a lay-by in Broad Town with a plan to visit the white horse and the castle. Public footpath off Chapel lane overgrown and impassible. Alternative route up Horn lane OK. Came back via the White Horse trail which has good views of the horse. Not well signed or defined in parts and is also partially overgrown with nettles and brambles. However that’s probably the best way in and out. Take a big stick. Site itself is great. Atmospheric location with lovely views. No structures or stonework visible but you can imagine the (pre-chalk pits) layout pretty well. Worth the struggle! No shade at the top (but trees below). Some steep banks and drops. Cows live here.

GemmaJ visited on 26th May 2020 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 A wonderful site to visit, its quiet with spectacular views of Basset Down. From the summit there is access onto the White Horse Trail and the Ridgeway is visible with its distinctive tree clumps. There are many interesting features atop the summit including what looks to be a motte and bailey.

Andy B have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.5 Ambience: 4.5 Access: 2

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by Andy B : Image copyright Brian Robert Marshall and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Possible Iron Age promontory fort in Wiltshire. On the boundary at the northern tip of the parish of Broad Hinton is Bincknoll (pronounced ‘Bynol’) Castle, earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey of daunting natural strength, which was perhaps in origin an Iron Age promontory fort.

The Norman in question was probably Gilbert of Breteuil, who after the conquest acquired a block of manors centred on Broad Hinton, and built a castle here to guard and oversee them.

The earthworks of the now deserted hamlet of Bincknoll which grew up outside the castle may be discerned in Bincknoll Dip, sloping away to the north. But here the parish boundary was altered in 1884, and much of the clayland beneath the scarp, including Bincknoll Farm, Cotmarsh and part of Broad Town, which was formerly part of Broad Hinton, has been lost to other parishes.

More: Wiltshire CC
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Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by Andy B : Image copyright Brian Robert Marshall and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by GemmaJ : Bincknoll Castle (26/05/20). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by Andy B : Image copyright Brian Robert Marshall and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by Hordernm : View south(ish) from the top of the Bailey(?) showing possible inner defences. The Ridgeway is in the the far distance. Land falls away to the left very steeply to Bincknoll gap. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by GemmaJ : The view atop the summit of Bincknoll Castle (26/05/20).

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by vieveforward : Photograph taken in February 2016. The group of people standing on the edge of the scarp in the middle distance gives some idea of the scale. I have sat here at dusk, when all the rabbits come out to play in the valley below.

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by diggers92 : A side-on view of the ramparts. Erosion has taken its toll.

Bincknoll Castle
Bincknoll Castle submitted by diggers92 : This appears to be the causeway entrance. The surrounding ditch is heavily silted-up. (1 comment)

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Re: Bincknoll Castle by Anonymous on Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Infamous for the series of ritual animal sacrifices discovered in the late-eighties and rumoured to be the resting-place of more than one casualty from the travelling community. The grotto, whilst difficult to find, demonstrates how even nature's smallest waterfalls can craft the most delicate structures. Larger dogs are apt to find the going difficult in some of the denser wooded areas and might be best kept on a leash. Note that the site is still used for grazing by sheep and cows which can be defensive at certain times of the year.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Bincknoll Castle by Anonymous on Tuesday, 08 November 2011
This location used to be popular for collecting magic mushrooms and sloe-berries. You can find 'old' shards of pottery in the woods on the eastern side of the valley. It is completely concealed by trees at the entrance and can seem magical at any time of year.
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Re: Bincknoll Castle by Anonymous on Friday, 15 September 2006
Eledhwen writes: There is a hill figure on the same promontory, the Broad Town White Horse. Although this is quite recent (mid 1800s) it is entirely possible (as with many such carvings) that it was carved on the site of an older hill figure. A leyline passes through both nearby the stone circle complex Avebury running 13 miles from Bincknoll Castle to Marden Henge.

I would like to know more about it, so look forward to any replies.
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    Re: Bincknoll Castle by Anonymous on Wednesday, 06 February 2013
    ONE OF THE BEST PLACES I KNOW FOR PRIVATE WORKINGS OF THE CRAFT.
    [ Reply to This ]

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