2015

SP8305 : View across The Dene to Chequers

taken 9 years ago, near to Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, England

View across The Dene to Chequers
View across The Dene to Chequers
We were a little surprised to see SP8306 : Camera on top of Beacon Hill - but a few yards further on, its raison d'être became clear as we saw Chequers - the Prime Minister's country retreat - nestling in the valley below. The gently sloping land in the foreground is called The Dene - and it is a criminal offence to enter without permission! (Unlike normal trespass which at worst is a civil offence) see SP8305 : Perimeter sign at Chequers, the Prime Ministers country home
Cymbeline's Castle & Beacon Hill :: SP8306

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.
Geographical Context: Farm, Fishery, Market Gardening Place: Ellesborough Primary Subject: Field other tags: Chequers Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Prime Ministers Country [3] · Little [2] Other Photos: · Small clump of trees south of Beacon Hill · Camera on top of Beacon Hill ·
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SP8305, 21 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 18 April, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 28 April, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 8395 0575 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:44.6503N 0:47.1285W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 8354 0596
View Direction
East-southeast (about 112 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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