White Sheet Hill
{{Short description|Hill in Wiltshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = White Sheet Hill
| photo = Whitesheet hill.jpg
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| elevation_m = 245
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| location = Wiltshire, England
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| grid_ref_UK = ST803346
| topo = OS Landranger
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| easiest_route = Public footpaths and bridleways
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White Sheet Hill, also known as Whitesheet Hill, is a hill in the English county of Wiltshire. As one of the most westerly areas of downland in Britain the area is noted for its chalky farmland which contains a rich variety of rare and protected fauna and flora. The hill is also the site of a Neolithic causeway camp and barrows; and an Iron Age hill fort. The Roman road which runs along the hill was at one time the main route through the Selwood Forest. The hill is part of the Stourhead estate and has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1946.{{cite web | url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003161.pdf |publisher=Natural England |title=Whitesheet Hill |access-date=25 May 2023}}
The hill is the site of the {{convert|136.1|hectare}} Whitesheet Hill biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notified in 1965. Both the National Trust and the Dutchy of Cornwall own land within Whitesheet Hill SSSI.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-06 |title=Mapping the habitats of England’s ten largest institutional landowners |url=https://whoownsengland.org/2020/10/06/mapping-the-habitats-of-englands-ten-largest-institutional-landowners/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Who owns England? |language=en}}
White Sheet Hill is divided between the civil parishes of Kilmington, Mere and Stourton with Gasper. It is situated within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and has extensive views over Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. It is home to White Sheet Radio Flying Club who use it as a slope soaring site for fun and competition flying.
Prehistoric archaeology
There are some 12 ancient burial mounds (barrows) on the hill dating from 1800 BC,{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stourhead/w-stourhead-estate.htm |publisher=National Trust |title=The wider estate - Stourhead |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-date=11 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511112918/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stourhead/w-stourhead-estate.htm}} and a large Iron Age hillfort called White Sheet Camp.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1005690|desc=White Sheet camp|access-date=2 April 2020|fewer-links=yes}}
The site was excavated by Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet in the early 19th century:{{cite book |first=Sir Richard Colt |last=Hoare |title=The Ancient History of Wiltshire |volume=2 |page=42 |year=1812}}
Immediately on ascending the hill called Whitesheet, we find ourselves surrounded by British antiquities. The road intersects an ancient earthen work, of a circular form, and which, from the slightness of its vallum, appears to have been of high antiquity. Adjoining it is a large barrow, which we opened in October 1807, and found it had contained a skeleton, and had been investigated before.
On a point of land near this barrow are three others, all of which, by the defaced appearance of their summits, seemed to have attracted the notice of former antiquaries. No 1, the nearest to the edge of the hill, had certainly been opened, and appears to have contained a double interment. The primary one was an interment of burned bones deposited within a shallow cist, in an urn rudely formed, and badly baked. Above it was a skeleton with its head laid towards the south, and which from its position and perfect preservation appears not to have been disturbed. Its mouth was wide open, and it "grinn'd horribly a ghastly smile," a singularity we have never before met with.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|White Sheet Hill}}
- [http://www.whitesheet.org.uk/ Radio Controlled Aircraft Soaring Club]
- [http://www.meremuseum.org/collections/iron_age_hillfort.php Mere Museum: Iron Age fort, Whitesheet Hill]
- [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england Natural England website] (SSSI information)
{{SSSIs Wilts biological}}
{{coord|51.110474|N|2.281079|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST8032534671)|display=title}}
Category:1807 archaeological discoveries
Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1965
Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire
Category:Iron Age sites in England
Category:Hill forts in Wiltshire