Although this round barrow was probably a burial site associated with Ogbury Hillfort, which lies directly over the other side of the River Avon, the current trees have obstructed the view from one to the other.
I travelled up to the barrow from the bottom of Ogbury, past the church and the village pub. Just past this on the right is a bridleway which leads to the foot bridges across the river by great Durnford mill. Once over these narrow foot bridges, I followed what might well be an ancient track linking the two sites. This track had been recently 'stimmed' which made it appear like a round green tunnel. It was full of wildlife and I remember walking past some lovely walnut trees with fragrant leaves. Climbing to the top of the hill, the track opens out onto the Woodford road and the NCR 45. Directly over the road is a footpath which overlooks the earthworks of the deserted mediaeval village of Lake. Lake House Barrow is easy to reach from the start of this footpath although at the height of summer it is completely hidden by a high hedge which runs alongside the road.
Lake House itself is a fine Elizabethan structure and can clearly be viewed from the pasture beside the Barrow. This house was once home to the Rev. E. Duke who carried out a lot of early investigations into the ancient remains of the area. The current owner is an ex-police man by the name of Sumner. I think there was a birthday party on the day of my visit as a lot of limo's with blacked out windows came past me and into the grounds of the house. Security was present at the gates of the drive too.
A Bronze Age bowl barrow, listed by Grinsell as Wilsford 87. The barrow was surveyed by RCHME in 1992. 36 metres in diameter and 4.4 metres high, it is surrounded by a ditch and slight external bank. The mound profile is stepped, suggestive of a second conical mound having been built on top of the original more rounded Bronze Age mound. The sharp profile of the ditch suggests that this too is of recent origin and probably provided the material for the conical mound, although the ditch too may have prehistoric origins. The second mound was probably constructed to provide a prospect from which to admire the landscaped view around Lake House (SU 13 NW 37, 81). The RCHME survey also noted three further barrows in the vicinity (SU 13 NW 93-5). Scheduled. The barrow has been recorded on aerial photographs.
An unexcavated and so undated, ditched bowl barrow with a striking conical profile.
The barrow mound stands 4.75m high, surrounded by a 4m wide by 0.7m deep ditch, from which material was quarried during the initial construction of the monument during the Bronze age. There are indications of an outer bank, surviving as a slight earthwork 4m wide and giving the barrow an overall diameter of 42m.
The profile of the mound displays a distinctly stepped line, very reminiscent of Silbury Hill. This is the result of the construction of a second conical mound on top of the original round barrow. This alteration may be associated with the gentrification of the area, and was intended to provide a prospect mound from which to view Lake House and its surrounding parkland.
Although altered, this barrow and its contents have survived, which unfortunately cannot be said for many of the other round barrows which once dotted the grounds of Lake House, but which are now destroyed.
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