Worlebury Hill is the name given to an upland area lying between the flatlands of

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

and the

Kewstoke Kewstoke is a civil parish and village in Somerset, England, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, located next to the strip of coast called Sand Bay. Its population in the 2011 census was 1,690. History The parish was part of the Win ...

area of

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Worlebury Hill's rises from sea level to its highest point of , and the western end of the hill forms a peninsula, jutting out into the Bristol Channel, between

Weston Bay Weston Bay is an inlet of the Bristol Channel in North Somerset, England. It lies between Brean Down, which is now owned by the National Trust, is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific In ...

and Sand Bay. A toll road follows the coast around the hill from Sand Bay in the north to the now derelict

Birnbeck Pier Birnbeck Pier, also known as the 'Old Pier', is a pier situated on the Bristol Channel in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England, approximately south-west of Bristol. It is the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an islan ...

in the west, although tolls are not currently collected on the road. Worlebury Golf Club is situated on the Hill and the area is known for being one of the wealthiest areas in the county of Somerset.

History

The hill is the site of the

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 mostl ...

hillfort Worlebury Camp which occupies the western end of the wooded east-west ridge. It is a partly multi-vallate hillfort with stone-built ramparts. Excavated in the nineteenth century, structural details of several storage pits and the ramparts were discovered. The site is a

Scheduled 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 ...

(1011260) and was added to the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

in 2017, its condition noted as 'declining'. A condition survey and an analytical earthwork survey revealed some evidence about the use of the hillfort and its later history but many questions remain. Many of Weston-super-Mare's large Victorian residences are built on the lower slopes of the southern side of the hill, but the rest of the hill is heavily wooded. There are ancient fortifications at the top of the hill. Quarrying took place at various places on the hill from the late 18th century until the town quarry was abandoned in 1953. Before the flatlands were adequately drained, the main route to Bristol ran eastwards along the hillside.

Weston Woods

Weston Woods, which cover a large part of the hill top, were awarded a Planting Places Award in a scheme run by Sustainability South West to celebrate "brilliant examples of urban greenspaces" on 6 March 2008. The woods are a local nature reserve. The woodland provides a habitat for mammals including

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...

, red foxes and bats. Birds include great spotted woodpeckers, common buzzard, buzzards and Eurasian treecreeper, treecreepers. In 2020, North Somerset Council initiated a consultation on plans to remove "thousands of trees" to protect the remains of the Iron Age fort.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Worlebury Residents' Association
Weston-super-Mare Hills of Somerset Hill forts in Somerset