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Hillfort
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There is an early Iron Age fort or enclosure up here, but the general area was used many times over in 'Ancient Times': the Somerset Historic Environment Record suggests it was used in Neolithic and Bronze age times for a flint working site, and later there was a Roman temple (now languishing under a radio mast building).
Ruth Tongue collected a story about a 'Bullbeggar' here (an unusual and ill-defined supernatural terroriser) in 1906. Late travellers told of footsteps following them and a gruesome black shape that suddenly leapt over the hedge at them.In the 1880s two crossed bodies were dug up in quarrying operations, and crumbled to dust when they were exposed to the air. For some unexplained reason they were supposed to have been a Saxon and a Norman, and after this finding, Creech Hill had a bad name and was supposed to be haunted by following footsteps and a black uncanny shape. A farmer coming home late one night saw a figure lying on the road and went to its help. It suddenly shot up to an uncanny height and chased him to his own threshold. His family ran to his rescue and saw it bounding away with wild laughter. Another night traveller was attacked on Creech Hill and held his own from midnight to cockrow with the help of an ashen staff. From Tongue's 'Somerset Folklore' 1965. Ash of course is excellent protection against fairies and their ilk - if you can get rowan that's even better.
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Posted by Rhiannon
3rd February 2005ce
Edited 13th January 2007ce
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