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User:MauraWen/sandbox Helsby hill fort

Coordinates: 53°16′24″N 2°45′47″W / 53.2732°N 2.7630°W / 53.2732; -2.7630
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Helsby Hill, on which the hill fort sits

Helsby hill fort is an Iron Age promontory hillfort overlooking the village of Helsby in Cheshire, northwest England. Ancient scheduled monument.

Description

The fort is a double rampart promontory hill fort situated on Helsby Hill, which lies east of the village of Helsby, in the county of Cheshire, England. The Iron Age fort overlooks the Mersey estuary and holds commanding views of the Dee Valley and the Delamere Forest.

Helsby Hill has steep cliffs on the northern and western sides, providing a natural semicircular defence. Double rampart earthworks extend to the south and east to provide protection to those flanks. Two additional banks have been discovered enclosing a rock ledge on the cliff to the north side.[1][2][3] The hill has a summit of 141 m AOD, and is a prominent landmark rising above the Cheshire Plain, with fine views overlooking the Mersey Estuary and into Wales. Much of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust. The surrounding areas are well wooded to the southwest, northwest and northeast with farmland to the southeast. [4]

3D view of the digital terrain model

History

The hill fort is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[5]

"There are no visible traces of settlement in the interior of the fort, although extensive remains will survive beneath the present ground surface."[6]

Excavations last century revealed a wall composed of sand and rubble, revetted with stone to the back and front.

The outer rampart was excavated in 1955. A section cut through on the south side revealed that the bank was composed of earth, revetted with dry stone and laced with timbers across the width. This bank was originally 4m wide and was estimated to have stood 2.5m high. The stone revetting shows in the soil of the eastern field also, proving that the inner rampart was of similar construction.[6]

See also

  • [[List of Scheduled Monuments in Cheshire dated to before 1066
  • [[List of Scheduled Monuments in the United Kingdom

References

  1. ^ Helsby Hill – Hillfort in England in Cheshire, The Megalithic Portal, retrieved 27 December 2012
  2. ^ D. M. Longley “Prehistory” in C. R. Elrington (ed) “The Victoria History of the County of Chester, volume 1, Oxford University Press (1987)
  3. ^ J. D. Bu’Lock “Hillfort at Helsby” TLCAS Volume 64.
  4. ^ http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-green-space-june.pdf Directory of National Trust Green spaces
  5. ^ Historic England, "Promontory fort on Helsby Hill 250m north west of Harmers Lake Farm (1013292)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 December 2012
  6. ^ a b "Promontory fort on Helsby Hill 250m north west of Harmers Lake Farm". Historic England. Retrieved 19 February 2024.

53°16′24″N 2°45′47″W / 53.2732°N 2.7630°W / 53.2732; -2.7630

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