fauny fergus
Having taken three attempts at finding the somewhat overgrown path it was literally jaw-dropping to turn a corner and see Hoon Mount looming. It is huge: perhaps 30m in diameter and 5m or so in height. Certainly larger than Swarkestone and maybe a similar size to Round Hill (I’ve never been as close to the latter as I now have to this). The visibility of the mound on satellite maps underlines the size of the structure. There is some damage to the SW edge – I’m undecided if it’s from sheep or dickheads with detectors.
I sat on the summit and had swallows dance around me on a blustery July day. There is definitely a more pleasant air to this place than many others in South Derbyshire.
[Plaque inscription]
HOON MOUNT
Is the only obvious survival from the group of barrows (burial mounds) which gave Hoon its name, derived from the word “haugum” meaning “at the barrows”. No excavations of this well -prepared barrow are recorded and it is uncertain to which period of history it belongs. It may belong to the Late Bronze Age c2400-1500BC, or it may be an example of the much rarer Anglo Saxon or Viking burial mounds of the 7th-9th centuries AD.
As with South Derbyshire’s other important collections of barrows at Ingleby and Swarkestone, Hoon Mount is deliberately situated on a prominent vantage point. It is likely that it was constructed for the burial of a single important person, but later “secondary” interments often followed.
Across the valley to the south west you will see the ruins of Tutbury Castle, which was held for the King in the Civil War and surrendered in April 1646 after a siege by Sir John Gell. The Arts and Crafts style house close at hand to the south east is known as Hoon Ridge built in 1907 for E.A.J. Maynard JP.
South Derbyshire District Council, 2001
Hoon Mount viewed Westwards. It might just be fanciful thinking on my part but it looks as if there is evidence of a skirt (henge?) around the base of the barrow from this angle.
Sadly, A modern fence spoilt the Southward view.
Image credit: Fauny
Viewed from Wyaston Road these are largely inaccessible and not at all as captivating as the large barrow near Osmaston Fields Farm nor Tinkers’ Hill. I would make a rough estimate of a height of 3-4 feet and diameter of 15-20 feet for the larger of the two and 3 feet and 10-15 feet for the smaller.
These seem greatly diminished and, I would guess, have been (are being?) ploughed into the ground.
The two lesser barrows of those in the area surrounding Osmaston Fields. These appear to be on the verge of disappearing with the second of the two (on the left) lacking a great deal of presence. View from Wyaston Road.
Image credit: Fauny
