Monument record MDO907 - Chilcombe Hill, Chilcombe

An Iron Age hillfort on Chilcombe Hill consisting of a ditch with inner and outer ramparts enclosing an irregular pear-shaped area, with three entrances. The earthworks are quite slight, particularly along the south-eastern side.

The hillfort is "an irregular pear shaped enclosure surrounded by a ditch with inner and outer ramparts. Along the S.E. side the defence now consists of two scarps with a small ledge between them… The defences are..very slight..and there remains no trace of huts within the enclosure." Entrances: One on the E. side; one 70 yds SS.W of the N.W. angle, and a more doubtful one in the shape of a passage to the E. of the S. corner. <3>

For the most part this hillfort is formed by a weak bank with an inner ditch, but the defences, while of a rudimentary nature, would seem to have originally been a system of two banks with a medial ditch, set at the edge of a small plateau. The defences have been considerably worn down, and only on the N & NE part of the enclosure is the inner bank surveyable, and here it averages 0.3m high and 4.0m wide. The medial ditch is from 0.5 to 2.0 m. deep, being best preserved on the W. side of the hillfort. The outer bank averages 0.5m. High. Part of this bank has been destroyed by quarrying on the N. side. On the S.E. the defences now consist of two scarps each approximately 1.5m. High, and separated by a narrow berm. This side has been defaced to some extent by rabbits and natural soil creep. There are four complete or partial breaks in the earthwork. That towards the S. extremity does not seem original, and two strip lynchets lead away from it in a S.W. direction. The original entrances are probably those on the E and the N. part of the W. side, as suggested in T2. The inturning shewn in the plan in T.2. is perhaps modern, for both entrances are in present use for agricultural purposes. A probable modern break exists at the N.W. angle, and here are vestiges of a continuation of bank and ditch beyond the alignment of the N. side. The photo-plan in T.2. shows small lengths of inner scarp to the inner 'bank' which are not shown on the OS. 1/2500. These sections are very vague and virtually unsurveyable. This hillfort is well depicted on AP St.J/AX/90. <4>

An adequate water supply is adjacent to this hillfort, perambulation revealed no traces of internal occupation. <5>

The hillfort interior has been ploughed, and dark patches with sherds and burnt flint are evidence for at least nine huts (SY530918). The sherds are coarse and probably early Iron Age. Iron Age sherds from a gas-board trench across the North end of the fort are in the Butler Collection. <6>

Iron Age hillfort on Chilcombe Hill. Earthworks are visible on aerial photographs. <10-11>

<1> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset (2nd Edition), 38, 148-9 (Monograph). SWX1971.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1930 (Map). SWX1540.

[Centred at SY 53029195] CAMP [OE]

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 97-98 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(3) HILL FORT, on top of Chilcombe Hill (650 ft. above O.D.) at the N. end of the parish, has an internal area of 19 acres and a total area of 23½ acres. The work consists of an irregular pear-shaped enclosure surrounded by a ditch with inner and outer ramparts. Along the S.E. side the defence now consists of two scarps with a small ledge between them, but presumably the former defences along this side were the same as those of the rest of the work. The defences are of very slight character and there remain no traces of huts in the enclosure. There appear to be three entrances, one on the E. side, the second 70 yards S.S.W. of the N.W. angle, the third (more doubtful) an oblique passage to the E. of the S. corner. In the middle of the W. side a sharp kink suggests a change of plan during construction.

Within the enclosure and nearly adjoining the N. rampart is a mound (a), probably a barrow, 38 ft. in diam. and 4½ ft. high. Outside the enclosure to the S. are two further mounds, probably also the remains of barrows; (b), about 80 yards away, is 39 to 44 ft. in diam. and 2½ ft. high and has on the top a flat stone about 5 ft. by 2¾ ft.; (c) is 100 yards S.W. of (b) and about 38 ft. in diam. and 4 ft. high.’

<4> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 06-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<5> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F2 FDC 09-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<6> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Unpublished revision RCHME Dorset I (West) Undated (Chilcombe file) (Unpublished document). SDO19793.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/088 RCHME Inventory: Dorset I (West) and Revision (Unpublished document). SDO17367.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 881915 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: Chilcombe Hill, Chilcombe, Dorset. Includes 2 profiles.

<9> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1982, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1980, 106 (Serial). SDO80.

’15. CHILCOMBE HILL. SY 530920. On south-projecting chalk spur at 195 m. Pear-shaped enclosure covering 7.6 ha. Ditch with lower inner and outer ramparts. No surface finds recorded.’

<10> 06-DEC-2006, NMR SY5391/11-13 (24501/22-4) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11395.

<11> Royal Air Force, 22-JAN-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2431 3155-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11391.

<12> Stewart, D, 2013, Chilcombe, Dorset. A Geophysical Survey (Unpublished document). SDO16767.

<13> Lock, G, and Ralston, I, 2017, Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland [ONLINE], EN3588 (Digital archive). SDO17130.

<14> National Record of the Historic Environment, 451361 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

May 3 2023 4:51PM