Warbstow Bury Hill Fort - Warbstow, Cornwall
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member SMacB
N 50° 41.280 W 004° 32.808
30U E 390737 N 5616271
Warbstow Bury Iron Age Hill Fort lies on the side of a hill just to the northwest of the North Cornwall village of Warbstow, near Launceston. Oval rather than circular it has diameters of 340 metres and 270 metres.
Waymark Code: WMP30K
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/20/2015
Views: 2

"A multivallate Iron Age hillfort of approximately 7.5 hectares occupying a fairly level position at 750 ft OD. It is very strong and extremely well preserved with few modern mutilations. The outer and inner ramparts are concentric and complete, the outer having two simple entrance gaps and the inner two inturning entrances (now badly mutilated). The middle rampart which is clearly later and unfinished encompasses the southern half of the hillfort and there is no trace that it continued save an 80.0 metre long 0.5 metre high ?setting-out bank lying within the enclosing space on the north side.

(SX 20129077) Warbstow Bury (NR).

Iron Age Hill Fort.

"...Warbstow Burrows, one of the best preserved and largest earthworks in Cornwall.... It has two ramparts, and two entrances. The inner
area measures 370 feet by 450 feet, and is defended by a rampart
500 yards in circumference, and a ditch 20 feet wide. Outside this
is an annular space, varying from 60 to 150 feet wide, with a second rampart round it 950 yards in circumference, averaging 15 feet high with a ditch outside it 15 feet wide"

Warbstow Bury: The gap on south side of outer defences is recent: there are two opposite entrances NW & SE through which the FP goes - both original.

Warbstow Bury (a), a multivallate IA hillfort of approximately 7.5
hectares occupying a fairly level position at 750 ft OD. It is very
strong and extremely well preserved with few modern mutilations.

The outer and inner ramparts are concentric and complete, the outer having two simple entrance gaps and the inner two inturning entrances (now badly mutilated).

The middle rampart which is clearly later and unfinished encompasses the southern half of the hillfort and there is no trace that it continued save an 80.0 metre long 0.5 metre high ?setting-out bank lying within the enclosing space on the north side.

Resurveyed at 1:2500.

Warbstow Bury is a bivallate (partly multivallate) hillfort in Warbstow, north Cornwall. Surveyed by English Heritage 2013, it was found that contrary to previous belief (authority 5), the middle rampart was probably the first phase of construction. This is now lost in the east where it is overlain by the impressive inner rampart. There are entrances at the south-east and north-west which are thought to be original, although later modified. An inturned entrance on the south-east suggests controlled entry. No evidence of the activities which took place within the hillfort in the Iron Age could be determined from the earthworks.
An internal long mound (separately recorded as 436587) has been interpreted as a pillow mound (not the burial place of King Arthur or Warbstow Giant). Other slight earthworks may relate to a beacon for Queen Victoria?s 1887 Jubilee. Ridge-and-furrow in the interior underlies the latter features. Two sentry boxes dating to the Second World War were terraced into the inner rampart, for the Home Guard.
The position and size of the ramparts and the possibility that they were quartz-faced indicates that this site was meant to be seen. It is reasonable to assume the inhabitants held a position of status and power over those living in the surrounding settlements. The hillfort shares a number of similarities with Castle an Dinas hillfort."

SOURCE - (visit link)
Accessibility: Full access

Condition: Completely ruined

Admission Charge?: no

Website: [Web Link]

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