Scheduled Monuments›England›Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood

Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood

England
List entry 1006204
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1006204
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.84 hectares
Grid reference
SS 85919 44958
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Berry Castle is an Iron Age hillfort situated within Berry Castle Wood in Somerset. The site comprises a defensive enclosure formed by substantial earthwork banks and ditches characteristic of Iron Age fortification design, likely constructed between the 8th and 1st centuries BC. Its positioning and structural remains indicate it served as a settlement and refuge site during the Iron Age period, when such hillforts were widespread across Britain and functioned as centres of tribal authority, trade, and defence. The monument survives today as a scheduled ancient monument, preserving evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and construction methods in the Somerset landscape.

Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006204. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood?

Berry Castle is an Iron Age hillfort situated within Berry Castle Wood in Somerset. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006204.

Who is responsible for protecting Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood?

Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood 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 1006204.

What other scheduled monuments are near Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Almsworthy Common: a stone alignment 560m south west of Chetsford Bridge (3.6 km), Bendel's Barrows, Exford Common (3.9 km), Group of four barrows and cairns known as 'Rowbarrows' including Great Rowbarrow and Little Rowbarrow (3.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood'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

Almsworthy Common: a stone alignment 560m south west of Chetsford Bridge
3.6 km
Bendel's Barrows, Exford Common
3.9 km
Group of four barrows and cairns known as 'Rowbarrows' including Great Rowbarrow and Little Rowbarrow
3.9 km
Round barrow 800yds (730m) SW of Dunkery Beacon
4.6 km
Dunkery Beacon and adjacent mounds
4.7 km
Cairn 850m north east of Dunkery Bridge
5.6 km
Road Castle
7.4 km
Enclosure and associated outworks on Staddon Hill
7.6 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood

Berry Castle, Iron Age enclosure in Berry Castle Wood stands on Middle Devonian (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

Domesday entry for Stoke, Somerset →
All Scheduled Monuments