Even the most casual walker on the Cotswold Way will notice the strange ditches in the woods above Wotton-under-Edge. These are the remains of Brackenbury Ditches, an Iron Age hillfort perched on the escarpment edge and dating to somewhere between the eighth and fifth centuries BC — making it over 2,500 years old.
The fort occupies a natural promontory overlooking the broad valley of the Doverte Brook. Its builders chose the site with a soldier's eye: steep scarp slopes defend two sides naturally, while on the more vulnerable north-eastern approach, they constructed a double line of ramparts. The outer bank still stands up to 7.6 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, fronted by a ditch six metres across. Archaeologists believe this outer defensive line may represent a later phase of construction, suggesting the fort was strengthened over time as threats evolved.
What was Brackenbury used for? Slight univallate hillforts like this one are relatively rare, and interpretations vary. They may have served as stock enclosures for livestock, redistribution centres for trade goods, places of refuge during conflict, or permanent settlements. Likely they fulfilled several of these roles at different times.
“Archaeologists believe this outer defensive line may represent a later phase of construction, suggesting the fort was strengthened over time as threats evolved.”
The fort's name has shifted over the centuries — it appears in historical records as Becket's Bury and Blackenbury Camp as well as Brackenbury. Despite extensive tree growth now obscuring the earthworks, the ditches and ramparts survive remarkably well. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and archaeologists believe it still contains significant buried evidence of Bronze Age and Iron Age life waiting to be uncovered.
