2009

SP8306 : Beacon Hill from Ellesborough Church Tower

taken 16 years ago, near to Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, England

Beacon Hill from Ellesborough Church Tower
Beacon Hill from Ellesborough Church Tower
On a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday (for a change !), we climbed to the top of the fine tower of SP8306 : SS Peter & Paul, Ellesborough which affords excellent views in all directions. To the southwest the scene is dominated by this notable tump. It is Beacon Hill - about 250' (75m) higher than the ground level of the church. Nearby to the west is Cymbeline's Castle (see shared description below) an ancient motte and bailey, while atop Beacon Hill itself is the remains of SP8306 : Bronze Age Bowl Barrow on Beacon Hill.
Beacon Hill sits below the higher eminence of Coombe Hill, but manages not to be overshadowed by it, retaining a certain quality - perhaps due to its ancient historical connections.
Cymbeline's Castle & Beacon Hill

Adjacent to Beacon Hill to the west is an ancient Motte & Bailey system known as Cymbeline's Castle (or Mount). Any connection with the ancient British king - whom Shakespeare wrote a play about - is I think speculative at best. However it has been suggested that the nearby Kimbles (Little & Great) are named after him, so it does at least have some plausible link back to pre-Roman times. Although Shakespeare used the name Cymbeline (for his entirely fictional tale), this 1st Century king who ruled a large area of Southern England before the Roman invasion, is more generally known historically as Cunobelinus, though he is known also by various other names such as Cynfelyn and Kymbelinus.
The motte and bailey(s) are overgrown with impenetrable scrub - and surrounded by barbed wire, so access to the site is unfortunately not possible, however if you scale Beacon Hill, the views down to it are very good.
Cymbeline's Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and there is an extensive and informative write up on the EH website here LinkExternal link
Beacon Hill itself looks an eminently suitable place for a hill fort, and it too is a Scheduled Ancient Monument as it is the site of a Bronze Age Bowl Barrow see LinkExternal link
Just south of the barrow is another S.A.M., A Pillow Mound LinkExternal link thought to be associated with the breeding of rabbits on the hill.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Motte
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Cymbeline's Castle [8] · Coombe Hill [5] · Ellesborough Church Tower [4] ·
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SP8306, 73 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 13 April, 2009   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 17 April, 2009
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 834 063 [100m precision]
WGS84: 51:44.9565N 0:47.5201W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 836 067
View Direction
South-southwest (about 202 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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