page_title: Blackdown Hills
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Blackdown Hills / History
caption_attribution_description: Map of earthworks at Castle Neroche, Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England.
context_page_description: The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991.
  The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. The hills support an extensive range of wildlife leading to the designation of 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
  There is evidence of human occupation since the Iron Age. Fortifications include the remains of ancient hill forts, Norman motte-and-bailey castles and Second World War airfields. There are also religious buildings such as Dunkeswell Abbey and village churches. The hills are crossed by a network of minor roads with major transport routes including the M5 motorway running around the periphery.
context_section_description: Paleoenvironmental studies have shown that organic material began to accumulate on the Blackdown Hills in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods with areas of open meadow, grass land with small woodland components being identified. There are several Bronze Age burial sites including Robin Hood's Butts near Otterford.
  Notable archaeological sites include the Iron Age hill forts at Membury Castle, Hembury and Castle Neroche. Hembury is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure near Honiton. It dates to the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC and is believed to have been the capital of the Dumnonii tribe. The fort is situated on a promontory to the north of and overlooking the River Dart at approx 178 m (584 ft) above sea level. It has given its name to some of the earliest Neolithic pottery in southern Britain. An Iron Age hill fort was later built on the same site.
  There has been archaeological evidence found on the site of Roman military occupation, suggesting a fort within the existing Iron Age site. It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
  Fourteen hill slope enclosures, dating from the Iron Age have been identified on the Blackdown Hills, and prehistoric remains, from about 100 BC, have been found in Hemyock.
  Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort near Staple Fitzpaine. The hill rises to 260 metres (853 ft) on the northern escarpment of the Blackdown Hills. The castle was probably built by Robert of Mortain in the 11th century and probably went out of use in the 12th century. Around the crossroads at Staple Fitzpaine there are several large sandstone boulders. They are called devilstones and are said to have been thrown by the Devil from Castle Neroche. According to legend if you prick them with a pin they draw blood. English word 'Stapol' means pillar or post and it is thought likely that this gave the village the first part of its name. The second part of the name comes from the Fitzpaine family who owned the manor between 1233 and 1393.
  A Roman bath house and Edwardian folly in the village of Whitestaunton were excavated by the archaeological television programme Time Team. There is also evidence of iron workings in the Romano-British period, at Dunkeswell, which radiocarbon dating has placed in the 2nd century. It has been suggested that these and other iron-based technologies gave the hills a fairly industrial landscape during the Romano-British period, providing a source of the name Blackdown Hills. Local iron ores were smelted at Hemyock in small bloomeries (furnaces) to produce pure iron until the Middle Ages.
  At Simonsburrow a battle between the native Britons and King Ine's Saxon army, put an end (temporarily) to the Kings expansion to the west. In 710, Ine and Nothhelm fought against Geraint of Dumnonia, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; John of Worcester states that Geraint was killed in this battle.  Ine's advance brought him control of what is now Devon, the new border with Dumnonia being the river Tamar.
  Just to the north of Culmstock, at Culmstock Beacon, is one of a chain of Elizabethan beacons built to warn of possible invasion by the Spanish Armada. On 5 November 1380, King Richard II granted Sir William and Lady Margaret Asthorpe a licence to crenellate the Hemyock manor house, meaning the permission to fortify it. Over the centuries, Hemyock Castle had many notable owners including Lord Chief Justice Sir John Popham. During the English Civil War it was held for Parliament, subjected to a brief but brutal siege and eventually slighted to destroy its military value. Parts of the castle walls, towers and moat still remain. They are a scheduled ancient monument and include displays of history and archaeology. The castle was also owned by General Sir John Graves Simcoe the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada in 1792. He is buried at Wolford Chapel near Dunkeswell. The chapel is now owned by the Province of Ontario.
  Early attempts were made by Charles I to enclose parts of the Blackdowns in the 1630s however this was opposed by the local lord and the 
caption: Earthworks at Castle Neroche
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