A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



SCALE OF FEET 



I IOO ZOO 3OO 



iii 



CASTLE HILL, HIGH WYCOMBK 



HIGH WYCOMBE. Castle Hill, standing in private grounds at High 



Wycombe, may possibly be part of an earthwork of the Class E type. 



LITTLE KIMBLE : CYMBELINE'S MOUNT. 

 This work, as has been remarked, occu- 

 Barrow pi es an important and prominent look-out 



point on a spur of the Chiltern Hills. 

 It may be conveniently placed under 

 Class E. Its situation and small size give 

 it a peculiar interest. 



Compared with the finest types of 

 Class E, such as Arundel, Lewes, Ongar, 

 and Windsor, this work appears to present 

 a species of defence which is much more 

 nearly allied to pre-historic times, than to 

 the Norman period, an era to which the 

 regular mount and bailey earthworks are 

 now commonly referred by antiquaries. It 

 must have been always a very good point 



from which much of the surrounding country could be overlooked. Indeed, 



the earthwork seems in many ways far more suitable for such a purpose than 



for a purely defensive camp possessing strategic advantages. 



Cymbeline's Mount consists of a circular pyramidal mount with trun- 

 cated top. This top is surrounded at the base by a well-developed fosse, the 



earth from which has been utilized in making the 



annular rampart which incloses the whole. This 



fact is clearly demonstrated by the re-arranged 



chalk revealed in rabbh-burrows. 



Tradition assigns this work to Cymbeline, or 



Cunobelinus, the king of south-east Britain who 



was reigning a few years before the Christian era, 



and about forty years after it ; but the evidence 



of Neolithic implements found within one of the 



square inclosures points to earlier occupation of 



the site. Small fragments of pottery of pre-Roman 



character have been noticed in the camp by the 



present writer. 



The inclosures or baileys may perhaps have 



contained stockaded villages or places for the 



shelter and protection of sheep, or indeed for both 



purposes. No traces of masonry or foundations 



are seen on the surface of the ground. The work overhangs Icknield Way. 

 On the still higher ground to the south of Cymbeline's Mount there are 



remains which may possibly be those of ancient hut-floors. 



k*L? 



SCALE OF FEET 

 100 gOO 300 



CYMBELINE'S MOUNT, LITTLE 

 KIMBLE 



