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North Stoke

Hillfort

<b>North Stoke</b>Posted by mossImage © moss
Also known as:
  • Littledown hill fort

Nearest Town:Keynsham (6km WSW)
OS Ref (GB):   ST709688 / Sheet: 172
Latitude:51° 25' 0.93" N
Longitude:   2° 25' 6.64" W

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<b>North Stoke</b>Posted by moss <b>North Stoke</b>Posted by moss <b>North Stoke</b>Posted by moss

Fieldnotes

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I visited this site back last summer.
Take the minor road off the A431 and drive into North Stoke village. (The road is a dead end) Park near the church and take the public footpath which runs through the graveyard and around the back of the church. Follow the path up the hill and the hillfort is on your right. Unfortunately, the whole site seems to be fenced off and I couldn't see any easy access points over the fence (it is also very overgrown by the fence). The views down the valley do however make the walk worthwhile.
Posted by CARL
16th June 2010ce

Miscellaneous

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This fort was probably a temporary defensive site in times of trouble. Though hillforts are thought of as iron age, they probably have a much longer lineage. It's iron age tag is underlined by the fact there were three barrows in the enclosed area, plus one outside by the entrance. There seems little respect by the later occupants of the earlier people. The "religious significance" of the bronze age barrows not even acknowledged. Its interesting to note that the west entrance lines up with a gap between the hills towards the west coast of Wales and the sea.
The area around here has been quarried for centuries, a substantial roman settlement half mile to the north probably took the stone down via North Stoke to the river.
The remains of a small stone hut at the foot of the west entrance may have been a 17th/18th c shelter for the people who quarried here, there are the remains of a further hut just by the gate under the escarpment of the fort. History jostles through the landscape not in a measured way but in a small series of reminders that past generations have also eked out their liveilhoods here..
moss Posted by moss
14th August 2005ce