Posbury
Encyclopedia
Posbury Hill Fort
is an unexcavated Iron Age
Hill fort, located three miles from Crediton, Devon. It consists today of an incomplete earthwork partly enclosing a hilltop 180 metres above sea level. A modern road cuts across the north of the hilltop.
Just to the south of the hamlet
there are the remains of an early Roman road
, that ran from the newly discovered Roman fort, near Colebrooke, in an eastward direction towards Crediton
.
W. G. Hoskins
states that this is a likely site for Posentesburg, a battle site from 661 AD in which, Wessex
, the King of Cenwalh moved the native Briton tribes out of middle Devon to the coast. Today the hill fort's defences are best seen from the bridle path
, just to the north of the concent.
. The nunnery was founded by a Grace Emily Costin who took the name "Mother Teresa". Gold was supposedly discovered in a tree struck by lightning.
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 an unexcavated 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, located three miles from Crediton, Devon. It consists today of an incomplete earthwork partly enclosing a hilltop 180 metres above sea level. A modern road cuts across the north of the hilltop.
Just to the south of the hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
there are the remains of an early Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
, that ran from the newly discovered Roman fort, near Colebrooke, in an eastward direction towards Crediton
Crediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
.
W. G. Hoskins
W. G. Hoskins
William George Hoskins CBE FSA was a British local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history...
states that this is a likely site for Posentesburg, a battle site from 661 AD in which, Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, the King of Cenwalh moved the native Briton tribes out of middle Devon to the coast. Today the hill fort's defences are best seen from the bridle path
Bridle path
A bridle path is a thoroughfare originally made for horses, but which these days serves a wide range of interests, including hikers, walkers and cyclists as well as equestrians. The laws relating to permissions vary from country to country...
, just to the north of the concent.
Posbury St Francis Convent
The Anglican Franciscan nunnery occupies the original home of the Tuckfields, later the Hippisley family which was followed by the Shelleys of Shobrooke Park. In 1931 the Shelleys moved to Shobrooke, near CreditonCrediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
. The nunnery was founded by a Grace Emily Costin who took the name "Mother Teresa". Gold was supposedly discovered in a tree struck by lightning.
External links
- Posbury information in Crediton area pages
- The new Windows Live LocalWindows Live LocalBing Maps is a web mapping service provided as a part of Microsoft's Bing suite of search engines and powered by the Bing Maps for Enterprise framework....
has very good pictures of the local area