Hillforts Map

Home / England / City of Bristol / Blaise Castle

Blaise Castle

City of Bristol, England · Atlas EN4043

Blaise Castle is a partial contour fort in City of Bristol, England.

Other names on the record: Henbury.

It is recorded as extant, with a partial multivallate rampart form, surface evidence of earthen bank and stone wall, and an enclosed area of 2.4 hectares.

Banks or ramparts are the remains most likely to be visible.

The topographic record places it on a hilltop and at 91 m.

The aspect is recorded as level.

Recorded land use includes woodland, parkland, pasture, and built-up land.

Dating evidence is recorded for 400 BC–AD 50 (Artefactual). Reliability is recorded as C - Low.

A scheduled monument number is recorded (1004530).

Location

Atlas number
EN4043 (4043)
Country
England
Current county or unitary authority
City of Bristol
Historic county
Gloucestershire
National Grid reference
ST55807835
Latitude
51.50230
Longitude
-2.63821
Altitude
91 m

Form and condition

Type
partial contour fort
Condition
Extant
Morphology
partial multivallate
Complete rampart circuit
No
Number of ramparts
3
Ramparts by quadrant
NE 3, SE 0, SW 0, NW 3
Number of ditches
3
Possible original entrances
2
Breaks through the ramparts
2
Enclosed area
2.4 ha
Enclosing works, as visible
earthen bank and stone wall
Also recorded
ditches
Entrance forms
Simple Gap (South west); Simple Gap (East)

Landscape

Topographic position
hilltop
Aspect
level
Land use
woodland, parkland, pasture, and built-up land

Dating

Dating
400 BC–AD 50
Dating evidence
Artefactual
Dating reliability
C - Low

Interior and investigation

Interior excavation
pits
Finds
pottery and metal
Investigations
Excavation (1957); Other (2001); 1st Identified Written Reference (1665-1693); 1st Identified Map Depiction (1885-1900)

Identifiers

Scheduled monument number
1004530
HER
City of Bristol 1753M
National record
record ST 57 NE 2; monument 198169
Wikidata
Q31109020

Sources

References

  1. Anon, 2001. Blaise Castle Car Park Extension: archaeological evaluation, Cotswold Archaeological Trust.
  2. Burrow, I. 1981. Hillfort and hill-top settlement in Somerset in the first to eighth centuries AD, British Archaeological Report (BAR) British Series 1, 91, 239-40.
  3. Clevedon-Brown,J., and Rahtz, P.A., 1959. Blaise Castle Hill, Bristol. 1957, Proc Univ Bristol Speleol Soc, 8(3), 147-171.
  4. Lloyd Baker, T.J. 1821. An Account of a Chain of Ancient Fortresses, extending through the South Western part of Gloucestershire, Archaeologia, 19, 161-75.