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Old Winchester Hill

Iron Age hillfort viewed from the east
Altitude	130 m (427 ft)
Area	Hampshire
History
Abandoned	Iron age
Site notes
Excavation dates	Partly Excavated
Management	Natural England

Old Winchester Hill

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location	Hampshire
Grid reference	SU 642 208
Interest	Biological
Area	66.2 hectares (164 acres)
Notification	1986
Location map	Magic Map

Old Winchester Hill is a 66.2-hectare (164-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and a national nature reserve. Part of it is a scheduled monument.

Location

Despite its name the hill is around 11 miles (18 km) from Winchester; it is however part of the Winchester-East Meon Anticline. It lies to the east of Corhampton on the eastern side of the Meon Valley, opposite Beacon Hill. The South Downs Way and Monarch's Way long distance footpaths cross the summit of the hill, which reaches 197 metres (646 ft). About 2 kilometres to the northeast is another prominent hill, Henwood Down (201 m), above the village of East Meon.

In March 2009, it became part of the South Downs National Park.

Archaeology

On the summit of the hill is an Iron Age hill fort. Within the hill fort can also be found Bronze Age barrows dating between 2100 to 750 BCE. The fort itself was probably built in the Early or early-Middle Iron Age (600-300 BCE) and fell out of use around the beginning of the Late Iron Age (150-100 BCE), as this is the general pattern for hill forts in the south-east of England. More modern archaeology dates from World War II when the British Army used the hill as a mortar testing range. Some unexploded Ordnance may still remain in 'fenced-off' sections of the hill however grazing hill-sheep access all areas so danger to the casual walker is likely to be low.

Wildlife

The hill is the Site of Special Scientific Interest and a national nature reserve managed by Natural England. This unimproved chalk downland is home to a number of butterfly species, including the Adonis blue, chalkhill blue, common blue, dark green fritillary, Essex skipper, marbled white, meadow brown, silver-spotted skipper, small heath, small skipper, and the speckled wood. There is also a diverse bird population, including the European green woodpecker, commonly seen feeding amongst the many anthills (which are also very important for the lifecycle of the Lycaenidae butterflies) and the turtle dove. Many species of orchid can be found on the hill or in the immediate vicinity including the fly, bee and frog orchids.

References

1. ^ "Designated Sites View: Old Winchester Hill". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
2. "Map of Old Winchester Hill". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
3. Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 122–23. ISBN 0521 21403 3.
4. "Designated Sites View: Old Winchester Hill". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
5. Historic England. "Hillfort, oval barrow, round barrows, field systems and earthwork enclosure on Old Winchester Hill (1017899)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
6. "Old Winchester Hill NNR". English Nature. 1998. Archived from the original on 25 December 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
7. "Old Winchester Hill National Nature Reserve working today for nature tomorrow" (PDF). English Nature. 2003. pp. 1–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2018.

50°58′52″N 1°05′17″W / 50.98102°N 1.08814°W / 50.98102; -1.08814

v t e Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire
Biological	Alresford Pond Ashford Hill Woods and Meadows Avon Valley (Bickton to Christchurch) Baddesley Common Basingstoke Canal Beacon Hill, Warnford Bentley Station Meadow Bere Mill Meadows Binswood Blackwater Valley Botley Wood and Everett's and Mushes Copses Boulsbury Wood Bourley and Long Valley Bramshill Bramshott and Ludshott Commons Bransbury Common Breamore Marsh Brickworth Down and Dean Hill Brockley Warren Broughton Down Browndown Broxhead and Kingsley Commons Burghclere Beacon Burton Common Butser Hill Butter Wood Castle Bottom to Yateley and Hawley Commons Catherington Down Cheesefoot Head Chichester Harbour Chilbolton Common Coombe Wood and The Lythe Coulters Dean Crab Wood Danebury Hill Dibden Bay East Aston Common Ebblake Bog Eelmoor Marsh Eling and Bury Marshes Fleet Pond Fletchwood Meadows Foxlease and Ancells Meadows Galley Down Wood Gilkicker Lagoon Greywell Fen Greywell Tunnel Hazeley Heath Highclere Park Hook Common and Bartley Heath Hook Heath Meadows Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary Hythe to Calshot Marshes Itchen Navigation Ladle Hill Langstone Harbour Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary Lincegrove and Hackett's Marshes Lower Test Valley Lye Heath Marsh Lymington River Lymington River Reedbeds Mapledurwell Fen Martin and Tidpit Downs Micheldever Spoil Heaps Moorgreen Meadows The Moors, Bishop's Waltham Mottisfont Bats The New Forest Noar Hill Norley Copse and Meadow North Solent Odiham Common with Bagwell Green and Shaw Old Burghclere Lime Quarry Old Winchester Hill Pamber Forest and Silchester Common Peake Wood Poors Common Porton Down Portsdown Portsmouth Harbour Quarley Hill Fort Ratlake Meadows River Avon System River Itchen River Test Ron Ward's Meadow With Tadley Pastures Roydon Woods Rushmore and Conholt Downs Selborne Common Shortheath Common Sidley Wood Sinah Common Southampton Common Sowley Pond St. Catherine's Hill Stockbridge Common Marsh Stockbridge Down Stockbridge Fen Titchfield Haven Toyd Down and Quarry Trodds Copse Upper Greensand Hangers: Empshott to Hawkley Upper Greensand Hangers: Wyck to Wheatley Upper Hamble Estuary and Woods Waltham Chase Meadows Warblington Meadow Warnborough Green Wealden Edge Hangers West Minley Meadow West Woodhay Down Wick Wood and Worldham Hangers The Wild Grounds Woolmer Forest
Geological	Butser Hill Downend Chalk Pit Dunbridge Pit Duncroft Farm Pit Heath Brow Highcliffe to Milford Cliffs Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary Lymington River The New Forest North Solent

• Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire
• National nature reserves in England
• Hills of Hampshire
• Hill forts in Hampshire
• Nature Conservation Review sites