Nordy Bank Explained

52.4583°N -2.6257°WNordy Bank is an Iron Age hill fort on Brown Clee Hill in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in South Shropshire, England.[1]

Location

The nearest village is Clee St. Margaret, overlooking Ludlow, the nearest market town.[2] The fort probably dates to between the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. The site is a scheduled monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

Description

Nordy Bank is a univallate (having a single circuit of ramparts for enclosure and defence) hill fort situated on the western end of a spur running west from the main plateau of Brown Clee Hill. The maximum dimensions of the oval enclosure are 260-1NaN-1 by 200-1NaN-1, and it covers an area of . The main entrance seems to be on the northeastern portion, facing along the ridge. A broadening and lowering of the ramparts here suggest that there may have been a gatehouse structure. A secondary entrance lies halfway along the southern side; this one lies above a steep slope making it less vulnerable to attack, and there is no sign of a guard-house here. The other gaps in the rampart are thought to be modern. There are some slight indications of the remains of structures on the inner side of the rampart; this is most notable in the northwestern part where an 80NaN0 square building seems to have been located. The fort will probably have been used as a stock enclosure, a place of refuge and a permanent settlement.[3]

The defensive ditch earthworks are in good condition although past quarrying has damaged part of the ramparts on the southeastern part.[3]

The Jack Mytton Way long distance footpath passes adjacent to the site and the Shropshire Way runs 2 km to the northeast.[4]

Nordy Bank is the location setting of Sheena Porter's novel Nordy Bank (1964).[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nordy Bank - Hillfort in England in Shropshire. Megalithic.cxo.uk. 21 October 2018.
  2. Book: Philip's . Atlas of the World . 1994 . Reed International . 0-540-05831-9 . 16.
  3. Web site: Nordy Bank: a slight univallate hillfort 400m north east of New House Farm. Historic England . 25 March 2020.
  4. Web site: The Path . Shropshire Way Association . 25 March 2020.
  5. http://www3.shropshire-cc.gov.uk/intros/T000823.htm "Nordy Bank by Sheena Porter"