Castles · South West England
Cow Castle
Cow Castle — hillfort in Somerset, England, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Cow Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "hillfort in Somerset, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.1227°, -3.7240°.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
Cow Castle is an Iron Age hillfort 5.75 kilometres (4 mi) West South West of Exford, Somerset, England within the Exmoor National Park. It is a Scheduled Monument. It has been added to the heritage at Risk register because of the risk from bracken. It is situated on an isolated hilltop and has a single rampart and ditch, adapted to its location and enclosing 0.9 hectares, with a commanding position over the valley of the River Barle. It is 1.2 ha in area and surrounded by a rampart, up to 2m high. It is in a good condition, and is expected to contain significant and environmental evidence.
From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: North Exmoor SSSI
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Barle SSSI
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: South Exmoor SSSI
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Cow Castle is an Iron Age hillfort 5.75 kilometres (4 mi) West South West of Exford, Somerset, England within the Exmoor National Park. It is a Scheduled Monument. It has been added to the heritage at Risk register because of the risk from bracken. It is situated on an isolated hilltop and has a single rampart and ditch, adapted to its location and enclosing 0.9 hectares, with a commanding position over the valley of the River Barle. It is 1.2 ha in area and surrounded by a rampart, up to 2m high. It is in a good condition, and is expected to contain significant and environmental evidence. Legend says that the hillfort was built by fairies to protect themselves against the earth.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Hillforts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC. The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.1227, -3.7240
- District
- Somerset
- Parish
- Exmoor
- Postcode
- TA24 7LA
- Parliamentary constituency
- Tiverton and Minehead
Sources
- wikidata: Q5179394 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Cow Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Cow Castle Iron Age fort,Simonsbath,Somerset. - geograph.org.uk - 266665.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Cow Castle?
- Cow Castle is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode TA24 7LA), in the parish of Exmoor.
- Who owns Cow Castle?
- Cow Castle is owned by | designation1 = Scheduled Monument.
- Is Cow Castle a listed building?
- Cow Castle is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Is Cow Castle a protected site?
- Yes — Cow Castle is part of the North Exmoor SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the River Barle SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Does Cow Castle charge admission?
- Cow Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Cow Castle?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode TA24 7LA. It sits within the Tiverton and Minehead parliamentary constituency.