Scheduled Monuments›England›Danes Castle

Danes Castle

England
List entry 1011673
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1011673
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.24 hectares
Grid reference
SX 91982 93305
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Danes Castle is a univallate Iron Age hillfort located near Exeter in Devon, England. The site comprises a single defensive bank and ditch enclosing an area of approximately two hectares on high ground, demonstrating the characteristic defensive strategy of Iron Age communities in south-western Britain. Archaeological evidence and the form of the earthwork suggest occupation during the later Iron Age, though the precise dating and duration of use remain subjects of scholarly investigation. The monument survives today as an upstanding earthwork and represents an important example of Iron Age settlement hierarchy and territorial organisation in the Devon landscape.

Danes Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1011673. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Danes Castle?

Danes Castle is a univallate Iron Age hillfort located near Exeter in Devon, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1011673.

Who is responsible for protecting Danes Castle?

Danes Castle 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 1011673.

What other scheduled monuments are near Danes Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Medieval bridge and part of a late medieval conduit under Holloway Street (1.3 km), Little John's Cross (2.7 km), St Loye's Chapel and cross, Rifford Road (3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Danes Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Danes Castle'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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Medieval bridge and part of a late medieval conduit under Holloway Street
1.3 km
Little John's Cross
2.7 km
St Loye's Chapel and cross, Rifford Road
3 km
Ide Bridge
3.1 km
Linear round barrow cemetery at Castle Park, Alphington
4.1 km
Earthwork enclosure 220yds (200m) NE of Church Path Hill Plantation
4.7 km
Enclosures NE of Peamore Cottage
4.9 km
Roman signal station 450m north of Marshall Farm
5.5 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Danes Castle

Danes Castle stands on Holsworthy Group, bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Danes Castle

ExeterRoman town · ~0.4 miles
Domesday entry for Exeter, Devon →
All Scheduled Monuments