Credenhill Park Wood in Herefordshire is one of the Woodland
Trust’s more recent acquisitions following a successful public
appeal back in 2002. But centuries before that, the hill was
owned – and defended – by Iron Age man.
Monday night’s Time Team Special (21.00 Channel 4) exposes some
of the secrets of this sculptured hill fort and others like it
which pepper the UK countryside.
Credenhill’s distinctive sculptured shape is now disguised by
trees, so the imposing form of the Iron Age hill fort is hard to
make out. The physical efforts of hundreds of men went into the
fortifications of many hill villages like this, built before the
Romans conquered Britain. Now, Credenhill Park is managed for
wildlife by the Woodland Trust, and is covered mostly with
plantation conifers introduced in the 1960s, but it has a mixed
history.
In the 1300s, the manor of Credenhill had a hunting park,
probably broadleaved, within which rabbits and deer were kept.
In the early 1600s there is evidence to suggest the park was of
an open woodland character. In 1722 and 1805, references to
magnificent views from the top of the hill again suggest the
hill fort was still open, surrounded by woodland, and so it
remained until into the 19th century when the Hill Fort itself
was planted with trees.
The programme shows the Time Team digging beneath the trees in
the hunt for Iron Age evidence. Filming was carried out in
summer 2007.
Around the same time, the Woodland Trust began working with Dr
Keith Ray of Herefordshire Council’s archaeology department to
uncover more secrets of Credenhill’s history in a three-year
partnership funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For more information, or to find out how to get to Credenhill
Park Wood to see for yourself, follow the link to
Credenhill Park Wood’s website.
Map showing Deerpark boundary (extant, damaged and inferred).
Inner line demarks hillfort ramparts within the park area.
|
Download
Time Team Special PDF (1MB)
|
Photos of the diggings at Credenhill, Summer 2007
Photos: Jeremy Evans:
|
|