Wittenham Clumps

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Round Hill from the south at Wittenham Clumps.

Wittenham Clumps is the commonly used name for a set of small hills in the flat Thames Valley, in the civil parish of Little Wittenham in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire).

They are mostly grassed, but are wooded at the top with ancient Beech trees (originally planted in the 1740s), giving them a distinctive and prominent appearance. However, many of these have died or are dying. The area is a popular beauty spot for visitors, with a car park and paths for access by foot. It is maintained as a Nature Reserve by the Northmoor Trust.

1 Toponomy
2 Location
3 Archaeology
4 Poetry
5 External links

[edit] Toponomy

Strictly speaking, the name Wittenham Clumps, or simply The Clumps, are names for the wooded summits of these hills. The hills themselves are more properly referred to as the Sinodun Hills. According to the Royal Berkshire History website, the name Sinodun derives from Celtic, Seno-Dunum, meaning 'Old Fort'. Other lesser-used and more colloquial names for the Clumps include the Berkshire Bubs (since this used to be in the traditional county of Berkshire) and Mother Dunch's Buttocks (after a local Lady of the Manor named Dunch). The two main hills are called Castle Hill and Round Hill. A path through the wooded area at the top of Round Hill now enables access since 2005, after being closed for twenty years.

[edit] Location

Wittenham Clumps are located at grid reference SU569925, close to the River Thames and good views can be seen from the Thames Path along the river. The panoramic views of the Oxfordshire countryside from the clumps themselves are also spectacular. Day's Lock and Dorchester Abbey are clearly visible in the valley to the north. The cooling towers of Didcot Power Station dominate the skyline to the west. To the north-east is Little Wittenham Wood, which borders the Thames, and to the south-east is Brightwell Barrow. The wooden area at the top of Castle Hill, which contains a public footpath, is now closed indefinitely due to the danger of falling trees.

[edit] Archaeology

There is a hillfort on Castle Hill. The earliest earthworks date to the late Bronze Age. More banks and ditches were added during the early Iron Age. Excavation has revealed that the Iron Age inhabitants caught fish and wild boar as well as herding cattle and sheep. There is also evidence of farming of barley and wheat. The fort appears to have been abandoned by the late Iron Age, the next occupants being Romans.

[edit] Poetry

The Poem Tree, Castle Hill.

The eastern side of Castle Hill is the location of the Victorian 'Poem Tree', a beech tree with a poem carved into it by Joseph Tubb of Warborough Green in 1844–45. There is now a stone commemorating the 150th anniversary of the carving. The poem is as follows:

As up the hill with labr'ing steps we tread

Where the twin Clumps their sheltering branches spread

The summit gain'd at ease reclining lay

And all around the wide spread scene survey

Point out each object and instructive tell

The various changes that the land befell

Where the low bank the country wide surrounds

That ancient earthwork form'd old Mercia's bounds

In misty distance see the barrow heave

There lies forgotten lonely Cwichelm's grave.

Around this hill the ruthless Danes intrenched

And these fair plains with gory slaughter drench'd

While at our feet where stands that stately tower

In days gone by up rose the Roman power

And yonder, there where Thames smooth waters glide

In later days appeared monastic pride.

Within that field where lies the grazing herd

Huge walls were found, some coffins disinter'd

Such is the course of time, the wreck which fate

And awful doom award the earthly great.

— Joseph Tubb, 1844–45

Wittenham Clumps is said to be where Matthew Prior wrote Henry and Emma, and this is commemorated by a plaque. They were also repeatedly painted by Paul Nash.