Oldberry Castle hillfort is an elongated ovate univalate hillfort of under 3 acres overlooking the river Barle. A short way upstream are two more enclosures – Brewer’s Castle, and Mounsey Castle. The original ramparts are largely ploughed out, but the course is preserved in the line of a substantial hedge bank on the Western side, and the edge of the woods on the Eastern side.

The North East bank has been preserved by woodland. The Western edge of the site probably did not have a rampart, as it is naturally protected by a steep scarp. Where the bank survives in the woods at the North East end, it is around 2 metres high. A possible entrance has been identified here,(1) which gives access to a ridge running down that side of the hill, possibly leading to the river Barle.

Location

OS map reference: SS 9094 2823 . Nearest town/village: Dulverton.

References

1. Burrow, Ian (1981). Hillfort and hill-top settlement in Somerset in the first to eighth centuries A.D. BAR.