Cadbury Camp

Cadbury Camp
Tree growth on the ramparts at Cadbury Camp
LocationTickenham, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°26′55″N 2°47′13″W / 51.44861°N 2.78694°W / 51.44861; -2.78694
OS grid referenceST 45406 72467
BuiltIron Age
Official nameCadbury Camp
Designated17 October 1930[1]
Reference no.1008295
Cadbury Camp is located in Somerset
Cadbury Camp
Location of Cadbury Camp in Somerset

Cadbury Camp is an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, England, near the village of Tickenham. It is a scheduled monument.[1][2] Although primarily known as a fort during the Iron Age it is likely, from artefacts, including a bronze spear or axe head, discovered at the site, that it was first used in the Bronze Age and still occupied through the Roman era into the sub-Roman period when the area became part of a Celtic kingdom. The name may mean "Fort of Cador" - Cado(r) being possibly the regional king or warlord controlling Somerset, Bristol, and South Gloucestershire, in the middle to late 5th century. Cador has been associated with Arthurian England, though the only evidence for this is the reference in the Life of St. Carantoc to Arthur and Cador ruling from Dindraithou (perhaps the hillfort at Dundry[3]) and having the power over western Somerset to grant Carantoc's plea to build a church at Carhampton. Geoffrey of Monmouth invented the title 'Duke of Cornwall' for Cador in his misleading History of the Kings of Britain.

The 7-acre (2.8 ha) hill fort is well preserved, and is managed by the National Trust through a Higher Level Stewardship agreement with Natural England which involves tree clearing, including non-native Turkey Oaks, and management of the scrub.

The name Cadbury is derived from "Cada's byrig"; byrig is the Anglo-Saxon word meaning "fort" or "town", which is frequently, but not exclusively, used to refer to hill-forts.[4][5][6] It is one of three sites in Somerset to include the Cadbury name, the others being Cadbury Castle, near South Cadbury and Cadbury Hill which is also known as Cadbury-Congresbury to distinguish it from the other sites.

  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Cadbury Camp, a small multivalate hillfort on Cadbury Hill (1008295)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Cadbury Camp (195367)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  3. ^ "St. Carantoc « kingarthursomerset". 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ntironage was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Clambering over Cadbury Camp" (PDF). North Somerset Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  6. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-869103-7.