Hardwell Castle

Hillfort in Compton Beauchamp, Oxfordshire

51°34′42″N 1°35′14″W / 51.57844°N 1.58723°W / 51.57844; -1.58723

Scheduled monument

Official nameHardwell Camp promontory fortDesignated18 August 1958Reference no.1017820^[1]

Location of Hardwell Castle in Oxfordshire

Hardwell Castle or Hardwell Camp is an Iron Age valley fort in the civil parish of Compton Beauchamp in Oxfordshire (previously Berkshire).^[2]

Site nature

Like nearby Cherbury Camp, it is not clearly in a strategic or easily defended position. It lies halfway down the scarp slope of the White Horse Hills and is tucked away in a curve, invisible from most angles. This particular positioning suggests its builders had a specialist purpose in mind, although exactly what that may have been remains a mystery. It is also surrounded by a double vallum: its dimensions 140 by 180 ft.^[3] It is 'multi-vallate', like Cherbury Camp. It is unexcavated and therefore very little is known about it. The site is described as a promontory fort by Historic England, and has been a Scheduled Monument since 1958.^[1]

Location

The site is at grid reference SU287867 in the Vale of White Horse, very close to the small settlements of both Compton Beauchamp and Knighton, 2 miles from Uffington and 1 mile from the hilltop Uffington Castle.

References

^ ^a ^b Historic England. "Hardwell Camp promontory fort (1017820)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^ "Hardwell Camp [Hardwell Castle] Hillfort". The Megalithic Portal. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
^ A Handbook for Travellers in Berks, Bucks, and Oxfordshire: Including a Particular Description of the University and City of Oxford and the Descent of the Thames to Maidenhead and Windsor. London: J. Murray. 1872. p. 52.