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Somerset Historic Environment Record
| Site Name: | Kenwalch's Castle hillfort, Pen Wood, Charlton Musgrove |
| SCHEDULED MONUMENT: | Kenwalch's Castle: a large univallate hillfort on Pen Hill [No:24019] |
| Civil Parish: | Charlton Musgrove |
| Grid Ref: | ST 7477 3354 (ST 73 SW) |
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The public accessibility of this site is unknown but it should be visible from a public right of way. Please assume that the site is private property. [Information last updated on 17 December 2002]
Univallate hillfort occupying the full width of the flat top of a N-S ridge and, to the E and W, the bank is atop steep slopes. The gaps through which a road passes is wider than the road and so are likely to be original entrances. {1}
Very overgrown and with internal features. Defences most massive on the SSE and NNW where there are entrances. A third gap, apparently recent, is present at the SW corner. {2}
Enclosure of about 1.6ha divided into two parts by the road which follows the county boundary. Bank 3.6m high from the bottom of the ditch which is 1.8-2.4m deep and 13.7m wide. {3}
Lies astride the Somerset-Wiltshire border Large univallate hillfort on the N tip of a ridge. Sub-rectangular, drawing to a point on the N. Enclosed by bank and external ditch or terrace, most massive on the S against main part of ridge with bank up to 2m high and ditch 2m deep Along sides natural steep slope is utilised to form a scarp and ditch below a shallow bank. On W side the ditch becomes a terrace 3-4m wide. Entrances probably in centre of N and S sides where a road enclosed by banks runs through Present wide gaps are probably due to course of pre-enclosure road. On NNW is an adjacent gap which may be the original entrance. Gap in SW corner unlikely to be original; also a small gap on the SE. Slight terrace inside ramparts along the west. The site is known as Kenwalch's Castle, referring to Cenwalh, and is probably a modern name. Outer terrace along W may preserve waterlogged deposits. {6}
Scheduled area revised 14 April 1994 with new national number (was Somerset 319 and Wiltshire 342. {7}
Monument lies within mature conifer plantation, with trees on the banks and ditch and within interior. Track, well-used by horses, enters on SW side and runs along lip of rampart of monument's W side, with some erosion. Track exits through wide gap in N bank, with some Rhododendron spreading around the Nw side, but generally stable and in good condition. {8}
Five year management agreement to run 1/10/2002 - 30/9/2007. {9}
| 1 | Detailed records - Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division record card. Record ID: ST 73 SW 6 (1966) Location: HER files. |
| 2 | Description - Burrow, I. Hillfort and Hilltop Settlement in the First to Eighth Centuries AD. (1981), 238-9. British Archaeological Reports 91. |
| 3 | Detailed records - Various. Department of the Environment and English Heritage (1980s) Location: HER collections. |
| 4 | Mention - Page, W. Victoria History of the County of Somerset. Vol. 2 (1911), 511. |
| 5 | Mention - Gray, H St G. Vespasian's Camp or Kenwalch's Castle. Somerset Archaeology and Natural History 50:1 (1904), 43-4 Copy available in SANHS library at Somerset Heritage Centre. |
| 6 | Detailed records - Preece, A. Kenwalch's Castle: A large univallate hillfort on Pen Hill. (17/9/1993) unpublished Monuments Protection Programme report for English Heritage. Location: HER files. |
| 7 | Correspondence - English Heritage to Somerset County Council. (19/4/1994) Location: HER files. |
| 8 | Site visit report - Graham, A [Alan]. English Heritage Field Monument Warden (24/2/1999) Location: HER files. |
| 9 | Correspondence - English Heritage to Somerset County Council. (4/4/2003) Location: HER files. |
Record created in October 1984
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