Bredon Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bredon Hill | |
|---|---|
 The tower and earthworks on top of Bredon Hill |
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| Elevation | 299 m (981 ft) |
| Location | Worcestershire, England |
| Prominence | 257 m |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 150 |
| OS grid reference | SO958402 |
| Listing | Marilyn |
Bredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham. It lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and although geologically part of the Cotswold upland with its yellow oolitic limestone, the western escarpment of the Cotswolds has eroded eastwards several kilometres since its rock was laid down more than 100 million years ago from corals at the bottom of a warm sea. As a result, the hill now stands isolated in the Vale of Evesham.
On top of the hill are the remains of earthworks from an Iron Age hill fort (also known as Kemerton Camp), as well as a small stone tower known as Parsons' Folly. The tower was built in the 18th century for Mr Parsons of Kemerton and intended as a summer house, from which a more extensive view of the surrounding countryside could be seen. The 981 feet natural height of the hill may have contributed to the final height of the tower, whose top now reaches 1000 feet. A similar tower on Leith Hill increases the overall height from 965 feet to 1029 feet. Since the 1980s the tower has been used as a mobile phone base station; two antennas mounted on the corners of the structure can be seen in the photograph.
In addition to the Iron Age fort there are Roman earthworks and a number of ancient standing stones on the hill. One pair of stones below the summit are known as the King and Queen stone. Local legend tells that if you pass between these stones you will be cured of illness.
The area around the highest point is grassland with open public access under a DEFRA Countryside Stewardship scheme. As well as promoting access, it aims to manage the landscape to protect the archaeological features and protect wildlife such as the Violet click beetle.
A large number of public footpaths and bridleways cross the hill from the villages circling its base, and allow for a variety of circular routes to be devised. The Wychavon Way passes over the hill, but does not reach the summit.
The Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 map has for many years shown the top as 229 metres high. That this is a typographical error is obvious from the contours; the 1:25,000 map shows the spot height as 299 metres. It may be an intentional error, intended to discourage plagiarism of copyright-protected Ordnance Survey map design.
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[edit] History
Bredon Hill is well known as the birthplace of Fred Archer (1915–1999), whose many books describe in vivid prose life on the farms and in the villages in past years, particularly the first part of the 20th century.
The hill is imortalised in poem 21 of A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad.
- In summertime on Bredon
- The bells they sound so clear;
- Round both the shires they ring them
- In steeples far and near,
- A happy noise to hear.
- Here of a Sunday morning
- My love and I would lie,
- And see the coloured counties,
- And hear the larks so high
- About us in the sky.
- The bells would ring to call her
- In valleys miles away;
- "Come all to church, good people;
- Good people come and pray."
- But here my love would stay.
- And I would turn and answer
- Among the springing thyme,
- "Oh, peal upon our wedding,
- And we will hear the chime,
- And come to church in time."
- But when the snows at Christmas
- On Bredon top were strown,
- My love rose up so early
- And stole out unbeknown
- And went to church alone.
- They tolled the one bell only,
- Groom there was none to see,
- The mourners followed after,
- And so to church went she,
- And would not wait for me.
- The bells they sound on Bredon,
- And still the steeples hum,
- "Come all to church, good people."
- O noisy bells, be dumb;
- I hear you, I will come.
When Worcester Cathedral was damaged in the English civil war, it was repaired with stone brought from Bredon.
The name "Bredon Hill" is unusual in that it combines the name for "hill" in three different languages. The word "bre" is of Celtic origin, and "don" is an Old English usage.
[edit] Villages
There are 11 main villages around the base of the hill, linked by road in an approx. 15 mile circuit. Working clockwise these are:
- Ashton under Hill
- Beckford
- Conderton
- Overbury
- Kemerton
- Bredon
- Bredon's Norton
- Great Comberton
- Little Comberton
- Elmley Castle
- Kersoe
[edit] Arts and crafts on Bredon Hill
There is a lively local arts scene around the hill such as the Bredon Hill Open Studios group of artists, designers and craftspeople who open up their studios to the public. This group includes the artist Samantha Dadd, Conderton Pottery, Beckford Silk printing workshop and Bredon Pottery. Contemporary artists painting the local area include Nick Holdsworth and Tony Whitehouse.
