Loughton Camp
Loughton Camp is an Iron Age (~500 BC) Hill fort in Epping Forest,[1] one mile (1.6 km) northwest of the town of Loughton.[citation needed] It lies "about two miles south-west" of Ambresbury Banks.[2] and south-west of the town of Epping, Essex.
It is a Scheduled Monument.[3] Its surrounding forest is a Special Area of Conservation[4] and Site of Special Scientific Interest.[5]
The camp's earthworks cover an area of approximately 10 acres (4 hectares) and are visible today as a low bank and ditch encircling the main camp.[citation needed] The banks were most probably once a single high rampart, used for defence and the appearance of the ditch suggests it was once very wide and deep in places.[citation needed]
The camp lies on one of the highest points in the surrounding area, on a ridge of high ground, likely to have once been strategic.[citation needed] It is speculated that the camp was used by the Trinovantes in defence against the Catuvellauni.[6][failed verification] Its elevation suggests that the camp was possibly once a lookout post.[citation needed] However, it may have simply been used as fortification for protection of cattle.[citation needed] A stone Iron Age grain millstone (quern) was found close by.[citation needed] Local legend has it that Boudica used the camp, and that Ambresbury Banks was the site of her defeat in AD61 however "that has been disproved".[7]
The southwestern edge of the camp falls away sharply to an area known as Kate's Cellar (a hermit who reputedly once lived in this area of the forest).[citation needed] An early 19th Century map shows Dick Turpin's hideout here (there are a number of locations within Epping Forest's 6,000 acres (24 km2) which claim the same).[citation needed]
The camp was 'discovered' by Mr Benjamin Harris Cowper in 1872.[8] The first archaeology carried out was by General Pitt-Rivers in 1881. In 1882 the Essex Field Club further excavated the banks. According to T. V. Holmes:
"Many flint flakes, cores, and one implement were discovered, besides many fragments of rude, hand-made pottery, apparently of pre-Roman date."[2]
Roger Nolan, in his Julius Caesar's Invasion of Britain (2018) says there is no doubt that Loughton Camp was the third marching camp used by Caesar in his invasion of 54BC, en route from Kent to the defeat of the British tribes at Wheathampstead (Devil's Dyke).[citation needed] The Loughton site has never been comprehensively excavated; any proof of this might be apparent from such an excavation.[citation needed]
In June 2006 Loughton Camp, Loughton Brook, and Ambresbury Banks were "designated as out of bounds to cyclists" due to damage to the sites.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ City of London – Epping Forest Archived April 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Holmes, T. V.; Stebbing, W. P. D. (1 July 1896). "Excursion to Chingford Museum and Epping Forest: Saturday, May 9th, 1896". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 14 (8): 336–339. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(96)80044-7. ISSN 0016-7878.
- ^ "Loughton camp slight univallate hillfort, Loughton - 1013518 | Historic England". Historic England. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Epping Forest - Special Areas of Conservation". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Citation of Epping Forest SSSI" (PDF). Natural England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Epping Forest District Council – Museum Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine. Eppingforestdc.gov.uk (2008-02-27). Retrieved on 2011-08-28.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) City of London – Ancient Forst / Iron Age Camps - ^ B H Cowper "Ancient Earthworks in Epping Forest" The Archaeological Journal Volume 33 (1876). Archive.org (2001-03-10). Retrieved on 2011-08-28.
- ^ "City of London acts to protect ancient trees". City of London. 18 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
Kate's Cellar ISBN 978-0-9565883-0-2, historical fiction
External links
[edit]Images
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Media related to Loughton Camp at Wikimedia Commons
