
this is how the site looks from the road not easy to spot!
this is how the site looks from the road not easy to spot!
a wider view of the bank by the tree
one of the many earthworks at the bottom of the hill
Partition wall with entrance to the passageway between the two parts of the inner area visible to the left of the tree. Behind the tree, the course of the passageway is just visible
Outer ditch
Wall of inner area
Raised circular platform for hut, north of the main inner area (hut 3 on plan)
Main (western) entrance to walled inner area
Plan of Tatham enclosure
Well, there’s not a lot I can say that the previous post didn’t say. This place is beautiful, peaceful but has an eerie sense about it too. The ambience and views are amazing. Me and the young lady in the photos aren’t very well prepared when we go to these sites, and like the challenge of finding somewhere. We always find it half the thrill, but we honestly thought this one had eluded us. We had travelled the way to Wennington Road for half an hour but couldn’t find the site at first (obviously we suceeded in the end!).
Here’re the best directions for finding Tatham Hill. Coming from Wray village towards Wennington follow the double bend in the road. Just after the bend you will see a cattle crossing sign on your right and a little further to the left you will see an extremely large brownstone farmhouse and a small bridge in the middle of the road (it just looks like 2 walls either side as the road passes over a small stream). Just past the bridge you will see a metal gate on your right with a gravel path this leads to another gate and leads you directly to the hill. You can just make out the banks on top from the side of the road. Enjoy this beautiful site in good old Lancashire :)
What a fantastic site! We visited on a nice spring day, accompanied by the sounds of woodpeckers, golden plovers, lapwings and oystercatchers. The site itself is easily seen from the Wray to Wennnigton road, but we asked permission at Tatham Hall and walked up to the field itself. There we found a site that is in remarkably good condition for a prehistoric remain of this type.
There is an outer ditch aound three sides of the site (the stream completing the round), and within this there are several raised circular platforms that were presumably the site of huts. We counted at least 7 of these (though the blurb on the English Heritage list of scheduled monuments notes only 6).
The inner area is surrounded by a wall (stone and earthwork) which averages about a metre high – quite remarkable. There are three entrances, and the inner area is divided into two by a further wall. There is an intriguing passageway about 10 metres long that links these two inner areas – very clearly defined. There are two small enclosure areas (kilns? ovens?) within the inner area, one each side of the dividing wall. The inner area has a diameter of about 50 metres.
Outwith the outer ditch there are numerous other earthworks of undetermined vintage, including some possible kilns.
The site overlooks the rolling countryside of the Wenning valley, with views towards Hornby Castle and the hamlet of Tatham.