Iron Age hillfort at Ring Hill (EHER 151)

An early-middle Iron Age univallate hillfort is located within Audley Park and was surveyed by RCHME field staff in 1995. It is oval in plan, enclosing an area of 4.3 hectares, with its long axis aligned north-west to south-east. The rampart reaches a height of 4.7 metres on the south-west and north-east sides. The ditch is generally slight, 5 metres wide and up to 1.8 metres deep. Four causeways cross the ditch but none correspond closely to a breach in the internal bank, therefore identification of the original entrances is difficult. The causeways at the south-eastern end and the northern end are most likely to be later, while the ones at the level north-western end and on the eastern side are possibly original. All have been used as entrances since at least the late 18th century, when parts of the interior and the rampart were adapted as a carriage drive and the hillfort planted with a variety of specimen trees. A 17th century tree avenue and walk appears to have been aligned on the eastern entrance. A 17th century Belvedere to the north-east was replaced in the 18th century by the Temple of Victory and a menagerie was constructed in the interior replacing a rabbit warren.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Camp (NR). <1> Contour camp on Ring Hill, on the top of the hill, the ground dropping on all sides except the north-west, where it is level. The defences, which are considerably strengthened by the natural lie of the ground, consist of a wide ditch with traces here and there of an internal rampart. There are four gaps in the defences, but the original entrances cannot be identified. The ditch varies in size but it is generally about 15.0m wide and 4.5m deep from the summit of the scarp and 1.0m deep from the summit of the counterscarp. The area enclosed is about 16 1/2 acres and the whole site is thickly planted. <2> The earthwork is oval and follows closely the contour of the hilltop on which it is situated. The defences consist of a single wide ditch with high scarp. The outline of the work is complete, but the counterscarp of the ditch is partly obliterated in places. There is no evidence to suggest that an inner bank ever existed; the traces of an internal rampart referred to by RCHM are the slight changes in slope on the north-east and south-east sides. No record found of any excavation carried out on this earthwork but the style of defence adopted is typical of the early Iron Age. <3> Roman coins in or near Ring Hill Camp. <4> August 1969. Field visit. An early Iron Age hillfort of single bank and ditch, tree covered and in good condition. A number of large flints are scattered along the scarps. A modern track has been constructed along the top of the rampart, destroying any evidence there may have been of an inner scarp. The gap at the south-east corner may possibly have been the original entrance. Plan (25") revised. <5> <6> June 1989. Field visit. The hillfort is as described by <1> - <5>. In addition to the Iron Age use of the site attention should be drawn to the incorporation of the hillfort in the wider landscape garden of Audley End. The hillfort although now heavily covered in undergrowth still retains many deliberately planted trees including: chestnuts, firs, beech and sycamores. A track follows the inner scarp of the ditch, it is likely that this was constructed as a carriage drive around the top of the hill. A monument TL 53 NW 56 is situated on the north-east corner of the hill. <7> June 1995. Earthwork survey. In June 1995 RCHME's Cambridge Field Office carried out an analytical earthwork survey of the hillfort, primarily as a training project for undergraduates from Cambridge University. The hillfort is univallate with a slight counterscarp bank, oval in form with its long axis aligned north-west to south-east, and encloses 4.3ha. An early-middle Iron Age date seems likely. The rampart makes use of a natural chalk spur, though, contrary to <3>, it cannot be said to follow the contours closely, but drops by some 14m towards its south-east end. Also contrary to source <3>, there are traces of an internal bank around almost all the interior, though it has been heavily modified by the 18th century carriage drive, reaching a maximum height of 0.5m at the south-eastern end of the fort. The rampart is mainly formed by an enhanced natural scarp, which reaches a height of 4.7m on the south-west and north-east sides. The ditch is generally slight, generally 5.0m wide and up to 0.8m deep, but on the level north-western end, it reaches a depth of 1.8m. The counterscarp bank is rarely more than 0.3m high, and absent in places. Of the four causeways across the ditch, none corresponds closely to a breach in the internal bank, and identification of the original(s) remains difficult. The causeways at the south-eastern end and the northern end are most likely to be later, while the ones at the level north-western end and on the eastern side are possibly original. Cartographic sources show that all have been used as entrances since at least the late 18th century <8>. An etching by Stukeley <9> of a 17th century belvedere roughly on the site of the monument mentioned by <7> indicates that the internal bank was then about 1m high and that there may have been an entrance there which was erased by later activity. The interior appears to have been ploughed at that date. A warren was replaced by the 18th century menagerie, which survives. The stray finds of Roman coins were assigned a new NMR number to enhance the record. The hillfort was formerly known as Starbury, from which the nearby fieldname Strawberry Close is derived, and as Warren Ring until the 18th century. For further details, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plan at 1:1000 scale, held in archive. <10> RCHME report published as an article. <11> The ramparts of the hillfort can be picked out by the different specimen trees on aerial photographs, and as earthworks in lidar data. A 17th century tree avenue and walk appears to have been aligned on the eastern entrance. <12> <13> Area = 6.68 See also: <14> - <23>