Bulbarrow Hill
Encyclopedia
Bulbarrow Hill is a 274 metre (900 feet) hill near Woolland
, five miles west of Blandford Forum and ten miles (16 km) north of Dorchester in Dorset
, England
. The chalk
hill is part of the scarp
of Dorset Downs
, which form the western end of the Southern England Chalk Formation
. Part of the hill is used for arable
agriculture
, but most is calcareous grassland
. The hill overlooks the Blackmore Vale
, and offers views of Dorset, Somerset
, Wiltshire
and Devon
.
Rawlsbury Camp, a five acre
Iron Age
hill fort
, is situated on a promontory of the hill. Little remains of the camp except the twin embankments and intermediate ditch which surrounded it. The hill gets its name from the several barrows, or burial mounds, that adorn the hill. Additionally, a medieval trackway crosses the ridge. A more recent addition is the twin radio transmitter towers used by the emergency services.
The hill is a popular launch site for paragliders.
On 13 February 1969, a Gloster Meteor T7
, number WL350, crashed on Bulbarrow Hill (Grid 805068). Both pilots, R Woolley and Flight Lieutenant RV Patchett, were killed. The cause of the crash has never been established. Two local men, John Tory and Donovan Browning, received bravery awards for risking their lives trying to save the pilots.
The TV presenter Jack Hargreaves
who died in 1994 had his ashes spread on Bulbarrow Hill above Raven Cottage.
, refer to Bulbarrow Hill in the track, Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes, taken from their 2000 album Trouble Over Bridgwater
, in which the narrator bemoans the increasing popularity of 'trendy' holiday destinations such as Cuba and Iceland, saying 'I’d much rather go down to Dorset, with its wonderful Bulbarrow Hill'.
Woolland
Woolland is a village in north Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale under Bulbarrow Hill seven miles west of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 76 . The village is first mentioned in Cartularium saxonicum from the year 939 Wonlond, the Domesday Book from the year 1086...
, five miles west of Blandford Forum and ten miles (16 km) north of Dorchester in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hill is part of the scarp
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of Dorset Downs
Dorset Downs
The Dorset Downs are an area of Chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger Chalk Formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.The Dorset...
, which form the western end of the Southern England Chalk Formation
Southern England Chalk Formation
The Chalk Formation of Southern England is a system of chalk downland in the south of England. The formation is perhaps best known for Salisbury Plain, the location of Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight and the twin ridgeways of the North Downs and South Downs....
. Part of the hill is used for arable
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, but most is calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland
Calcareous grassland is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover...
. The hill overlooks the Blackmore Vale
Blackmore Vale
The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. The vale is part of the Stour valley...
, and offers views of Dorset, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Rawlsbury Camp, a five acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
, is situated on a promontory of the hill. Little remains of the camp except the twin embankments and intermediate ditch which surrounded it. The hill gets its name from the several barrows, or burial mounds, that adorn the hill. Additionally, a medieval trackway crosses the ridge. A more recent addition is the twin radio transmitter towers used by the emergency services.
The hill is a popular launch site for paragliders.
On 13 February 1969, a Gloster Meteor T7
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
, number WL350, crashed on Bulbarrow Hill (Grid 805068). Both pilots, R Woolley and Flight Lieutenant RV Patchett, were killed. The cause of the crash has never been established. Two local men, John Tory and Donovan Browning, received bravery awards for risking their lives trying to save the pilots.
The TV presenter Jack Hargreaves
Jack Hargreaves
Jack Hargreaves OBE was an author and television presenter in the UK. His enduring interest was to comment without nostalgia or sentimentality on accelerating distortions in relations between the city and the countryside....
who died in 1994 had his ashes spread on Bulbarrow Hill above Raven Cottage.
In popular culture
The British band, Half Man Half BiscuitHalf Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...
, refer to Bulbarrow Hill in the track, Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes, taken from their 2000 album Trouble Over Bridgwater
Trouble Over Bridgwater
Trouble Over Bridgwater is the eighth album by UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 2000. The title is a play on words, based on the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Water"...
, in which the narrator bemoans the increasing popularity of 'trendy' holiday destinations such as Cuba and Iceland, saying 'I’d much rather go down to Dorset, with its wonderful Bulbarrow Hill'.