214 



railway station, are two lines of entrenchment commanding the roads, which 

 tradition states to have guarded a camp to which the Romans retreated after an 

 engagement. 



The following communication from the Rev. T. W. Webls has been kindly 



sent to the Secretary : — 



" Hardwick Vicarage, Hay, R.S.O., 



" 19th August, 1884. 

 " Dear Sir, — As I fear I cannot look forward to the pleasure of joining your 

 party on the 25th instant, which would have been very interesting to me from 

 old associations, as I was curate of Ganarew, and in continual sight of Little 

 Doward, for three years, may I beg permission to send you a few remarks on the 

 subject of the camp on that hill, in tlie hope that they may at any rate lead to 

 some interesting inquiry and discussion. 



"I went to live at Ganarew in the year 1851, and found that the then pro- 

 prietor of the Leys (now called I think Wyastone), Mr. R. Blakemore, being 

 entirely unacquainted with the antiquarian interest attached to his property, had 

 been making such alterations in the entrenchments as at any rate elicited a feeling 

 of thankfulness that his activity had not proceeded further in that direction. 

 The enclosed extracts from a contemporary note-book of mine will give some idea 

 of the extent of the mischief, to which is to be added that he had everywhere 

 taken off the summit of the rampart to make a walk upon it — a fact which has to 

 be allowed for in estimating the original strength of the position. 



"I do not very well recollect the barrows, but my impression is that they 

 were for the most part in the Little Bailey, and that they had not a sepulchral 

 aspect, being flat and low. One in particular had a projection on one side, giving 

 it a rude likeness to the letter T. If I recollect aright, they had narrow and 

 shallow trenches round them. 



" As to the story of the skeleton, I have since had a misgiving that I misinter- 

 preted the word 'joint' employed by my informant, and that he really meant 'giant.' 

 ''And I do not feel sure that the story may not be a modified rei:>roduction of 

 an old account of the discovery of a huge skeleton, which is, I think, related in 

 Heath's book on the Wye Tour, to which I cannot at present refer, but hope that 

 some member of the Club may be more fortunate in this respect. 



'■ There is a passage in the History of Geoffrey of Monmouth, which, as far as 

 I know, has not been adverted to in connection with this fortified summit, but 

 which may possibly be thought worthy of some attention. He says, lib. viii., 

 § 2, concerning Aurelius Ambrosius : ' Convertit exercitum suum in Cambriam, 

 oppidumque Genoreu petivit. Diffugerat enim e6 Vortigernus, ut tutum refu- 

 gium haberet. Erat autem oppidum illud in natione Hergin super fluvium Ganiie, 

 in monte qui Cloarius nuncupatur.' Then follows an imaginary speech of Aure- 

 lius to Eidol, and at the close : ' Nee mora, diversis machiuaturibus incumbent, 

 mcenia diruere nituntur. Postremo, cum csetera defecissent, ignem adhibuerunt : 

 qui cum alimentum reparisset, non acquievit adjunctus, donee turrim et Vorti- 

 gernum exarsit.' 



