Kilbury Camp

Nearest town:
Ledbury (1km SW)
OS reference:
SO722388
OS sheet:
149
Latitude:
52° 2' 47.09 N
Longitude:
2° 24' 19.47 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The southwestern flank. A further double bank and ditch is lower left, with caravans and boats parked on it. The hill rising beyond is Bradlow Knoll/Frith Hill.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024
Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Standing on what remains of the southern rampart, looking towards the Malvern Hills.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024
Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Looking up towards the hilltop enclosure from the east. The low remains of a southern rampart run diagonally from middle left to lower right.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024
Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Looking from the hilltop enclosure over the southern part of the site. You can see the low remains of the southern bank running across the photo, halfway down the field. Midsummer Hill hillfort is far left skyline.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024
Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The southwestern corner of the hilltop enclosure earthwork.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024
Image of Kilbury Camp (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The northwestern rampart curving up from bottom left, seen from the road to the west. The hilltop enclosure is on the right.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.1.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024

Articles

Kilbury Camp

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jan 13, 2024

Visited 23 January 2023.

After leaving Bradlow Knoll and making my way down from Frith Hill, I approach Kilbury Camp from the north. The OS map shows a confused series of earthworks, most of which don’t join up. It looks like there’s a small hilltop enclosure, with a much larger area enclosed by a couple of lines of ramparts around the base of the hill.

From the road to northwest, some traces of a rampart can be seen following the modern field boundaries. A helpful footpath leads me directly up to the corner of the hilltop enclosure from the west. There are indications of a low earthwork along the west and south of this inner enclosure, but much of the site goes into a fenced-off woodland area and I haven’t the energy to engage with trying to get into it.

Instead I follow the footpath eastwards, which crosses the southern part of the larger site. Dropping down to the next field boundary there are indications of an earthwork under the hedge, but there’s little to see. There are excellent views of the southern part of the Malvern Hills, particularly British Camp and Midsummer Hill which reward the visit and give the site some great landscape context.

Barbed wire bars a walk northwards along the rampart, so I decide to content myself with this part of the site. I don’t think there’s going to be a great deal more to see for the effort involved in further exploration.

Heading back to the road, I can see what appears to be two quite well-defined lines of bank and ditch along the southwest of the wider site. Unfortunately this area has been incorporated into a domestic site, in which a line of caravans and motor boats have been parked. It’s frustrating, as this appears to be the best-preserved part of the ramparts. I manage to get a further look at it from the road to the southwest where there’s a covered reservoir site, but that’s the best I can do without seeking permission for a closer look.

All in all, despite the limited archaeology it’s been worth scratching the itch of coming here, especially on such a lovely winter’s day. Another Herefordshire hillfort and somewhere I’ve been meaning to make the effort to visit for a long time.

Kilbury Camp

C
CARL Sep 6, 2010

Visited 4.9.10
My third (and last) Herefordshire Hillfort of the day and by far the best view.
Taking a minor road north out of Ledbury (pretty market town and well worth a visit) you come to the entrance drive to Kilmory House on your left. There is a small are to park directly opposite near the public footpath sign. Over the gate and a short easy walk up to the top of the small hill. The very top of the hill is covered by trees and the centre of the earthwork was covered in chest high nettles so I decided a view from the tress was best! There were decent views to be had and you can just make out Ledbury in the distance. I returned to the road and walked a bit further north to the next field gate where you can make out small earthworks at the top of the hill. There was no public access to this field and it didn’t look like there was a lot to see.
This seemed to me to be much more an ‘enclosure’ of some sort rather than a Hillfort.

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