![Northern Extension to British Camp - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Northern_Extension_to_British_Camp_-_geograph.org.uk_-_519523.jpg)
British Camp is an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
located at the top of
Herefordshire Beacon
The Herefordshire Beacon is one of the highest peaks of the Malvern Hills, and is high enough to be classified as a mountain. It is surrounded by a British Iron Age hill fort earthwork known as British Camp. The fort subsequently had a ringwor ...
in the
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit affo ...
. The hill fort is protected as a
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
and is owned and maintained by
Malvern Hills Conservators
The Malvern Hills Conservators are a body corporate responsible for the care and management of the Malvern Hills and Commons. They were established in 1884 and are governed by five Acts of Parliament, the Malvern Hills Acts 1884, 1909, 1924, 19 ...
. The fort is thought to have been first constructed in the 2nd century BC. A
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
was built on the site.
The extensive
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
remain clearly visible today and determine the shape of the hill.
The height of the summit of British Camp is .
Situation
British Camp is composed of extensive earthworks that have been compared to a giant wedding cake.
Midsummer Hill fort is a mile south of British Camp. There are a number of generally round hut platforms on British Camp, which may well suggest a permanent occupation. However it is unusual to have two major hill forts within such a short distance.
![British Camp Digital Terrain Model](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/British_Camp_Digital_Terrain_Model.jpg)
The diarist
John Evelyn
John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society.
John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...
(1620–1706) remarked that the view from the hill was "one of the godliest vistas in England".
British Camp
![British camp central mound 2005 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/British_camp_central_mound_2005_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The ditch and
counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...
bank around the entire site covers three hills, although those to north and south are little more than spurs. With a perimeter of , the defences enclose an area of around . The first earthworks were around the base of the central hill otherwise known as the citadel. At least four pre-historic phases of building have so far been identified. Original gates appear to have existed to east, west and north-east.
The Roman Era
There is no evidence about whether the coming of the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
ended the prehistoric use of British Camp, but folklore states that the ancient British chieftain
Caratacus
Caratacus ( Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the C ...
made his last stand here. This is unlikely, according to the description of the Roman historian
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
who implies a site closer to the river
Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
. Excavation at Midsummer Hill fort,
Bredon Hill
Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton, and it extends over parts of eight other parishes (listed below). The hill is geologically par ...
and
Croft Ambrey
Croft Ambrey is an Iron Age hill fort in Herefordshire, England.
Location
Croft Ambrey, on Yatton Hill, is in the civil parish of Aymestrey, north from Leominster, south-east from the South Shropshire border, and approximately east from th ...
all show evidence of violent destruction around 48 AD. This may suggest that British Camp was abandoned or destroyed around the same time.
The Castle
Medieval castles were sometimes built within earlier sites, reusing the earthworks of Iron Age hill forts for instance as was the case at British Camp. A ringwork and bailey castle, known as Colwall Castle as well as The Herefordshire Beacon, was built within the Iron Age hill fort, probably in the ten years immediately before 1066. Quite possibly the builder was Earl
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...
, the future King Harold II of England. Earl Harold is recorded as building another fortress in the county at
Longtown Castle
Longtown Castle, also termed Ewias Lacey Castle in early accounts, is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey fortification in Longtown, Herefordshire. It was established in the 11th century by Walter de Lacy, reusing former Roman earthworks. The ca ...
. The castle would appear to have been refortified during
The Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...
of the reign of
King Stephen. Before 1148 the fortress was held by
Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester
Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, Earl of Worcester (1104 – 9 April 1166, in Preaux), was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leice ...
. The castle appears to have changed hands again in 1151 and 1153 when attacked by royalists. At this time it was defended by the men of Earl Waleran's brother,
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1104 – 5 April 1168) was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.
The surname "de Beaumont" was given to him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robe ...
. The castle was finally destroyed by
King Henry II in 1155 and mentioned in passing by
William Langland
William Langland (; la, Willielmus de Langland; 1332 – c. 1386) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as ''Piers Plowman'', an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. The poem tr ...
before 1386.
The Shire Ditch
![Along the Shire Ditch to Broad Down - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Along_the_Shire_Ditch_to_Broad_Down_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1417378.jpg)
The Shire Ditch, or Red Earl's Dyke, runs north and south of British Camp along the ridge of the hills. It was created in 1287 by
Gilbert de Clare, the
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.''
Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121)
*Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100 ...
, following a boundary dispute with
Thomas de Cantilupe
Thomas de Cantilupe (25 August 1282; also spelled ''Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe'', Latinised to ''de Cantilupo'') was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII.
Origins
Thomas was the third ...
, the
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
.
[Palmer, R. 1992, The Folklore of Hereford and Worcester. Oxford University Press] Recent research has shown that the Shire Ditch might actually be much older. Indeed, there is some evidence that it may have started life as a prehistoric trackway running from Midsummer Hill fort to the
Worcestershire Beacon
Worcestershire Beacon, also popularly known as Worcester Beacon, or locally simply as ''The Beacon'', is a hill whose summit at is the highest point in Worcestershire. It is part of the Malvern Hills which run about north-south along the Herefo ...
, the highest hill in the range over three miles to the north of the Camp.
Folklore
A popular legend tells that
Caratacus
Caratacus ( Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the C ...
, a British tribal chieftain, fought his last battle against the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
at British Camp and goes on to say that after his capture he was taken to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
where he was given a villa and a pension by Emperor
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
.
However, the description by
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
, the Roman historian makes this unlikely:
Although the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
is visible from British Camp, it is about from it, so this battle must have taken place elsewhere. A number of locations have been suggested, including sites near
Brampton Bryan
Brampton Bryan is a small village and civil parish situated in north Herefordshire, England close to the Shropshire and Welsh borders.
Brampton Bryan lies midway between Leintwardine and Knighton on the A4113 road. The nearest station is Bu ...
, an important Roman site, or
Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. which also has an Iron Age fort on
Caer Caradoc
Caer Caradoc ( cy, Caer Caradog, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east to ...
Hill.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*Children, G; Nash, G (1994) ''Prehistoric Sites of Herefordshire'' Logaston Press
*
*
External links
British Camp at PastScapeBritish Camp Monument DetailMalvern Hills English HeritageImage of British CampBritain's Best View: The Malvern Hills
{{Authority control
Hill forts in Herefordshire
Hill forts in Worcestershire
History of Worcestershire
Tourist attractions in Worcestershire
History of Herefordshire
Tourist attractions in Herefordshire
Malvern Hills