Lansdown Camp

Nearest town:
Bath (7km SE)
OS reference:
ST721699
OS sheet:
172
Latitude:
51° 25' 36.76 N
Longitude:
2° 24' 4.83 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Lansdown Camp (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by moss

Lansdown camp, presumed Civil War defence (17thc) remains of all the Bronze Age barrows stacked against its side. 22.10.05. all these stones have now been removed presumably as hardcore for a carpark the race course is building!! slow attrition.

moss
moss Aug 7, 2005

Articles

Lansdown Camp

C
CARL Jun 16, 2010

I had a look for the barrows when In the area visiting the English Civil War battlefield site (E.H). I must admit that despite spending a fair bit of time looking for the barrows I couldn’t see any. Perhaps the sun needed to be lower on the horizon to show them better?

Lansdown Camp

moss
moss Aug 7, 2005

This large rectangular enclosure is said to be a defensive 17th Civil War enclosure, The Lansdown Battle was fought on two battlefields about a mile from here. Its interesting because it stands in a bronze age burial ground, with three barrows still remaining, and the rest ploughed away, the large stones being stacked against its side. At the edge of the field is Littledown hillfort on the escarpment, obviously a prime area for defence!
The photo shows the reason why; the commanding view to the Welsh mountains over the Bristol Plain and Severn estuary.

Folklore

Lansdown Camp
Barrow / Cairn Cemetery
moss
moss Aug 7, 2005

As Rhiannon added this site, I shall tell a ghost story. Whilst out walking I met a couple on the path near here, falling into conversation as you do, I said that there was a particular spot on the path that felt eerie, and he said that he’d seen the ghost of a gaitered man walking down this path away from the battle. Believe that as you may, but a friend had a similar experience near Dyrham ( 577ad battle site), a gaitered man appeared in a dark lane, but when this person turned his motorbike round to go back and check, the man had mysteriously disappeared. The lane was bordered by high estate walls so where he went was a mystery....

Miscellaneous

Lansdown Camp
Barrow / Cairn Cemetery
Chance
Chance Oct 14, 2012

Details of site on Pastscape

Earthwork remains of a possible Iron Age enclosure and cropmarks of an associated rectilinear enclsoure. Scheduled.
[ST 7212 6986] Earthwork [NR] (1)
The earthwork on the left hand side (west) of the Lansdown road, a quarter of a mile short of the Grenville monument, was trenched on the north side in September 1908, and found to consist of a bank and outer ditch. No coins or relics were found. Part of the earthwork may have extended into the field on the other side of the road. (2) Scheduled. (3)
The scarps shown on the O.S. 6” E. of the road are the results of quarrying. (4)
The earthwork is visible on both sides of the road. It consists of a low non-defensive bank, with an outer ditch around the western half. On the east the earthwork is less well defined and in parts has been dug into, probably for road stone. It seems likely that this is an I.A. stock enclosure which was later crossed by the Roman road. Visible on air photographs.
Surveyed at 1/2500. (5)
An undated earthwork, the part west of the road having now almost disappeared in the playing field which occupies the area. (6)
Lansdown Camp. Additional references and field report. (7)
A rapid examination of air photography (8a) shows the enclosure and also suggests the presence of at least one possible rectilinear enclosure east of the main enclosure. (8)

Sites within 20km of Lansdown Camp

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