Scheduled Monuments›England›Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork

Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork

England
List entry 1007667
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1007667
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
3.41 hectares
Grid reference
SS 99046 42016, SS 98820 42146
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Bat's Castle is a small multivallate hillfort located in Somerset, England, dating to the Iron Age. The site comprises a main fortified enclosure defended by multiple concentric earthwork banks and ditches, together with an associated outwork that extends its defensive perimeter. The monument demonstrates the typical characteristics of Iron Age hillforts in south-western England, with its defensive architecture reflecting the military and social organisation of its period. The earthworks remain substantially visible today, providing archaeological evidence of prehistoric settlement and territorial control in the region.

Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007667. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork?

Bat's Castle is a small multivallate hillfort located in Somerset, England, dating to the Iron Age. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1007667.

Who is responsible for protecting Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork?

Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1007667.

What other scheduled monuments are near Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wiveliscombe Barrow (7.3 km), Bowl barrow 700m north east of Burrow Farm (7.7 km), Burrow Farm iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 350m north east of Burrow Farm (7.8 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Wiveliscombe Barrow
7.3 km
Bowl barrow 700m north east of Burrow Farm
7.7 km
Burrow Farm iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 350m north east of Burrow Farm
7.8 km
Carnarvon New Pit iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 300m south west of Heather House
8.3 km
Bowl barrow 470m north of Brendon Hill Farm
8.4 km
Raleigh's Cross iron mine, 310m south east of Heather House
8.6 km
Huish Champflower Barrow
8.7 km
World War II pillbox 100m west of Ralegh's Cross Hotel
9 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork

Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork stands on Middle Devonian (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

Domesday entry for Broadwood, Somerset →
All Scheduled Monuments