Charlbury Hill, Wiltshire

Charlbury Hill is a hill near the villages of Hinton Parva and Bishopstone in the Borough of Swindon, England.

Charlbury Hill
Highest point
Elevation253 m (830 ft)
Prominence64m
Geography
Parent rangeThe Ridgeway
OS gridSU2378582129
Climbing
Normal routePath from The Ridgeway
AccessOpen Access Land

Historically within Wiltshire, the hill lies just north of The Ridgeway. The summit is 253m (830ft) above sea level with a prominence of 64 metres (210 feet). The hill is classified as a TuMP (hill of 30m or greater prominence) on the Database of British and Irish Hills. There is an Ordnance Survey (OS) triangulation pillar (TP1392 Charlbury Hill) located 6m away from the highest point. The top of the hill is open access land with a permissive path from The Ridgeway.[1][2]

Name

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Andrews and Dury’s A Topographical Map of Wiltshire (1773) gives the name as Shelbarrow Hill and later maps give the name Shalborough Hill.[3] It has also been called Skelbarrow Hill and has been spelt Charbury Hill.[4]

The OS first edition one-inch-to-the-mile map (1829–1830) gives the current name and spelling of Charlbury Hill[5] which has been used since, including the current OS 1:25k Explorer[6] and 1:50k Landranger maps.[7]

History

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Despite the close proximity to The Ridgeway and other ancient sites such as Liddington Castle, there have been no archaeological discoveries recorded on the hilltop. There are two mounds resembling barrows but these have been recorded as natural features.[8]  

The hill is a popular viewing point but has also been the site of antisocial behaviour.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Mountain Search". www.hill-bagging.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Charlbury Hill Details + GPS Waypoint (#18369)". www.haroldstreet.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  3. ^ Gover, J.E.B.; Mawer, Allen; Stenton, F.M. (1939). The place-names of Wiltshire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 287.
  4. ^ Brentnall, H. C. (1941). "Wiltshire Place-names". Antiquity. 15 (57): 33–44. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00015507. ISSN 0003-598X. S2CID 163945176.
  5. ^ Ordnance Survey (1829-1830) first edition one inch to the mile map
  6. ^ Great Britain. Ordnance Survey (2015), Vale of White Horse : Abingdon-on-Thames, Wantage, Wallingford & Faringdon, Southampton, ISBN 978-0-319-24363-3, OCLC 1043122382, retrieved 17 June 2022{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Great Britain. Ordnance Survey (2016), Newbury & Wantage : Hungerford & Didcot, Southampton, ISBN 978-0-319-26272-6, OCLC 1119879389, retrieved 17 June 2022{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Pugh, R.B.; Crittall, Elizabeth (1957). The Victoria County History of Wiltshire, Vol. I, part 1. Vol. I, part 1. Oxford: University Press. p. 159.
  9. ^ "Beauty spot littered with 'condoms, nitrous oxide cannisters and foils/wraps'". Swindon Advertiser. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
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