British Camp

The British Camp is an Iron Age hill fort located at the top of Herefordshire Beacon in the Malvern Hills. The hill fort is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is owned and maintained by Malvern Hills Conservators. The fort is thought to have been first constructed in the 2nd century BC. A Norman castle was built on the site.

The extensive earthworks remain clearly visible today and determine the shape of the hill.

The height of the summit of British Camp is 1,109 feet (338 m).

The British Camp is composed of extensive earthworks that have been compared to a giant wedding cake. Midsummer Hill fort is a mile south of the British Camp. There are a number of generally round hut platforms on the British Camp, which may well suggest a permanent occupation. However it is unusual to have two major hill forts within such a short distance.

The diarist John Evelyn (1620–1706) remarked that the view from the hill was "one of the godliest vistas in England".

The ditch and counterscarp bank around the entire site covers three hills, although those to north and south are little more than spurs. With a perimeter of 6,800 feet (2,100 m), the defences enclose an area of around 44 acres (18 ha). The first earthworks were around the base of the central hill otherwise known as the citadel. At least four pre-historic phases of building have so far been identified. Original gates appear to have existed to east, west and north-east.

There is no evidence about whether the coming of the Romans ended the prehistoric use of the British Camp, but folklore states that the ancient British chieftain Caractacus made his last stand here. This is unlikely, according to the description of the Roman historian Tacitus who implies a site closer to the river Severn. Excavation at Midsummer Hill fort, Bredon Hill and Croft Ambrey all show evidence of violent destruction around 48 AD. This may suggest that the British Camp was abandoned or destroyed around the same time.

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