<< Our Photo Pages >> Bagendon - Hillfort in England in Gloucestershire
Submitted by 4clydesdale7 on Saturday, 24 September 2011 Page Views: 20074
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: BagendonCountry: England County: Gloucestershire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Cirencester Nearest Village: North Cerney
Map Ref: SP018064 Landranger Map Number: 163
Latitude: 51.756286N Longitude: 1.975324W
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 |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
4clydesdale7 visited on 23rd Sep 2011 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 4 This was a mammoth task but great fun - need more time to the E of River Churn to look for Bagendon 2 (if it exists)
From their original territory of South Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire they expanded into North Gloucestershire, the Forest of Dean, parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire and then South Warwickshire - now rather than being regarded as a hillfort Bagendon is now thought to be their major settlement. They built many Hillforts around their expanded territory e.g those over the Avon Gorge at Clifton, probably Old Sodbury (before the Romans modernised it) Abbey Camp, Bury Hill, Crickley Hill, Dyrham Camp, Nottingham Hill and so on - there are over 110 mentioned in G.B.Witts 1883 list.
One factor that has stood out for more than 150yrs is that the architecture of the Bagendon site could not be described remotely as 'defensive' - and so even though there has been very little investigation by way of excavation, Bagendon has now become an ancient settlement - the Capital of the Dobunni.
The Bagendon site consists, in the main, of a considerable number of earthworks which may now be conveniently divided into separate groups indeed even Pastscape have adopted this method - the groups are:-
(a) Bagendon Dyke A - SP01810688 which essentially follows the line of Cutham Lane N-S and is a bank with ditch to the E
(b) Bagendon Dyke B - SP01990664 which lies about 80m to the NE and then E of northern part of Dyke A
(c) Bagendon Dyke C - SP01930641 which lies about 25m to the E of the southern part of Dyke A
(d) Bagendon Dyke D - SP01640611 which lies 200m to the SW of the southern end of Dyke A and runs almost at at a right angle to it in an ENE-WSW direction over a NNW facing scarp
(e) Bagendon Dyke E - SP01580599 which lies 100m to the W of Dyke D and runs in the same ENE-WSW direction
(f) Bagendon Dyke H - SP00240671 which lies 750m further to the W running in a N-S direction in a wood on the W side of Bagendon village
(g) Bagendon Dyke I - SP01020772 which lies 50m to the W of Scrubditch Farm and runs in a E-W direction some 500m N of Dyke A
(h) Bagendon Dyke J - SP01780721 which lies 100m outside Dyke B running first N-S and then (at its northern end) SE-NW
(i) Bagendon Dyke X - SP99900639 which lies 250m to the SW of Dyke H and runs in a N-S direction over the W end of a modern quarry
(j) Perrotts Brook Dykes - SP010060 which lie 100m to the S of Dykes D & E and from their eastern end run in a W direction and then uphill to the NW
These Dykes (if extended ) would enclose an area of two square miles (somewhat large for a Hillfort) with 7 springs and command over a major crossroads of the day for two Ancient Trackways 'The White Way' N/S (for salt) and 'The Welsh Way' E/W (an excellent position for trade) - there are some authorities (G.F.Playne - Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club Transactions Vol 6 p212 and G.B. Witts in his Archeological Handbook of the County of Gloucester 1883) who venture the opinion that there are similar earthworks about 1km to the E across the River Churn but there does not seem to be evidence (on the ground or on old maps) to support this.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
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 mapKey: 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
1.1km N 2° North Cerney 1* Chambered Tomb (SP01840752)
2.2km NNW 333° North Cerney Cursus Cursus (SP00800834)
3.0km NNW 340° North Cerney 2* Round Barrow(s) (SP00790919)
3.3km SW 219° Wellhill Copse Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SO99740387)
3.5km NE 51° Calmsden spring* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SP04540863)
3.7km NW 324° Ditches Hillfort Hillfort (SO996094)
4.1km SSE 161° Tar Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SP03110252)
4.4km S 176° Corinium Museum* Museum (SP0212602059)
4.9km S 178° Querns Barrow* Chambered Tomb (SP01980150)
5.0km NNE 33° Pinkwell (Chedworth)* Chambered Cairn (SP045106)
5.3km W 272° Hoar Stone at Duntisbourne* Chambered Tomb (SO965066)
5.4km ENE 68° Colnpen* Chambered Tomb (SP068084)
5.5km N 9° Shawswell Farm Long Barrow* Long Barrow (SP027118)
5.8km W 266° College Plantation 1* Chambered Tomb (SO960060)
5.9km W 266° College Plantation 2* Chambered Tomb (SO959060)
6.1km W 260° Pinbury Hillfort Hillfort (SO958053)
6.1km W 278° Jack Barrow Chambered Cairn (SO957072)
6.3km N 1° Monument Number 327710* Artificial Mound (SP0193712749)
6.7km NNE 32° Chedworth spring* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SP053121)
6.8km NW 320° Barrow Clump* Round Barrow(s) (SO974116)
7.6km SSW 209° Trewsbury Camp* Hillfort (ST98109980)
7.6km NE 39° Royal Oak* Round Barrow(s) (SP066123)
7.7km NE 40° Woodbarrow (Glos)* Chambered Tomb (SP067123)
7.8km NW 319° Elkstone Churchyard Stones* Holed Stone (SO9671012316)
7.8km WSW 237° Cassey Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SO952022)
View more nearby sites and additional images