Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley)

Nearest town:
Cheltenham (9km NW)
OS reference:
SO990149
OS sheet:
163
Latitude:
51° 49' 55.96 N
Longitude:
2° 0' 52.25 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Looking southeast, Pen Hill with its summit stand of trees is right of centre across the Churn valley.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.8.2020)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 21, 2020
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Exposed stonework on the southern rampart, showing the construction.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.8.2020)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 21, 2020
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Landscape context from Pen Hill to the south. The Churn Valley lies between the two hills.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.8.2020)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 20, 2020
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Unfortunately the highest part of the rampart on the southern side is also the most overgrown, in contrast to Emma’s Spring pictures.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The best section of rampart is along the south side of the fort.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Limestone scatter at the base of the rampart may indicate that the banks are partly stone-built. The fort has not been excavated.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The fort enjoys a good view across the Churn valley to the southwest.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

At the northeastern corner of the rampart, it’s easy to see that the fort does not occupy the top of the hill, but rather a position some way down the dip slope.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

The rather featureless interior of the fort, under a fleeting burst of sunshine. The eastern rampart across the field is all but ploughed away.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Approaching the NW corner of the site. The ramparts here have been much reduced by ploughing.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.10.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 30, 2014
Image of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley) (Hillfort) by Emma A

The bank can be clearly seen on the left (husband and dog provide scale) and it continues on the right of the track too, just visible behind the trees. There is a substantial ditch on the right as well. I don’t know whether the bank has been cut by the newer track or whether the track has always had an entrance there.

Image credit: Emma Alsop
Emma A
Emma A Apr 2, 2012

Articles

Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley)

Emma A
Emma A Apr 2, 2012

I come here quite regularly and see more of the hill fort each time I come!

It’s marked by Victorian beech trees – while they are good for marking the layout of the banks and ditches, they do obscure photos! The banks and ditch sweep round in an arc and act as the field boundary, which is planted with rape at the moment. I mistook it for just a field boundary on previous visits which is part of the reason I’d never managed to see much before!

It’s a lovely walk up there though, easily accessible if you park just off the road from Colesbourne to Hilcot (off the A435 Chelt to Ciren road) and walk up the gently sloping track. Skylarks and woodpeckers provided our soundtrack today.

Also worth seeing (although not strictly within the remit of this website!), is the beautiful, little, unusual cottage further along the track. It’s like someting from a fairytale and you come up to it unexpectedly. I think it used to be a toll house.

Such a peaceful place: great views and no traffic noise (despite being fairly close to the A435).

Miscellaneous

Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley)
Hillfort
Chance
Chance Jun 9, 2014

Details of hill fort on Pastscape

SO 990150) Norbury (NR) Camp (NR) Norbury hill-fort, univallate, unexcavated and mostly ploughed out, probably enclosed about 8 acres. The south end is defined by a bank 18 ft wide and 3 ft high with an outer ditch 20 ft wide and 3 ft deep. A scarp 2 1/2ft high marks the east side; at the NE angle the ditch appears as a band of dark soil with a slight outer scarp. The entrance in the SW is between over-lapping bank ends. (Visited 29.4.69) As described except that the ditch at the NE angle is indiscernible as the field is under young corn at present. Published 1:2500 survey revised. (3)
SO 990 150. Norbury, Colesborne [sic]. Listed in gazetteer as a univallate hillfort covering 3.2ha. (5)
Norbury Hill-fort (SO 990150), univallate, unexcavated and mostly ploughed out, lies on a hill-top 1 mile N of the village [Colesbourne]; it probably enclosed about 8 acres. [Further details and plan included]. A rapid examination of air photography (7a) suggests that the hillfort entrance was at the northern end of the northeast side. (7)
The hillfort referred to above is visible on aerial photographs and has been mapped as part of the Cotswolds Hills NMP survey. The hillfort is as described in source (2). The hillfort is defined by a bank on the north east, east, south and south west sides measuring about 7m in width. On the south side is a ditch about 5m wide. Overlapping ends of the banks appear to form an entrance at SO 9898 1485, though the slight out turned end of the bank visible to the northeast at SO 9895 1511, may also form an entrance. A section of bank to the northwest was not visible due to dense vegetation. (9-10)

Sites within 20km of Norbury Camp (Upper Coberley)

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