A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE 



of the hill, which is here 176 ft. in height. At the north-west another 

 path gives access to a narrow terrace three parts of the distance down the 

 hill-side, and thence to the lower ground. The main entrance was on 

 the north, and curves inwards towards the east between two rocky heights 

 which have been fortified, but the quarrying for sandstone has cut the 

 defences almost beyond recognition. The natural fall of the ground on 

 the north of the camp with the sentinels of rock, and the rise of the ground 

 as it joins the chain of hills on which is the high road from Houghton 

 to Tilton, formed a well-nigh impregnable position. 



MOUNTSORREL 'CASTLE HILL ' (xxv. 2). About 5 miles south-east of 

 Lough borough there rises a precipitous rock, described as 'a steep and craggy 

 hill,' high above the River Soar, dominating the town and surrounding 

 country. 



The castle of Robert le Bossu which formerly crowned this eminence 

 was razed in the early days of Henry III, but a fragment of the earthen 

 defences is still discernible. 



Across the neck of land from which the natural rock arose stretched a 

 wide fosse with an escarpment of 1 3 ft. and a counterscarp of 1 5 ft., with a 

 revetment nearly 3 ft. high. On the fortress side of the fosse are two berms 

 with an intermediate scarp of 1 2 ft. ; from the higher of these the rock 

 ascends to its greatest altitude at the north ; but the most precipitous part is 



on the east side. 



A winding ascent from the 

 east, around the south, is prob- 

 ably on the original path to this 

 almost inaccessible' stronghold. 

 Upon the summit it is impossible 

 to trace the position formerly 

 occupied by the castle keep, al- 

 though doubtless it was situated 

 on the high rock to the north. 

 Youthful sports and the amateur 

 quarryman have obliterated most 

 of its early features. 



HILL FORTS 



(CLASS B) 



BREEDON ON THE HILL (ix. 

 15) ' THE BULWARKS.' Five 

 and a half miles north-east by 

 north from Ashby de la Zouch, 

 on the summit of a lofty lime- 

 stone rock, with the natural line 

 of the height as its boundary, 

 is the strongest hill fortress in 

 the county. The table-land is 

 pear-shaped, the apex towards the 



THE BULWARKS, BREEDON ON THE HILL 



246 



