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NGRef: SK04431282
OSMap: LR128 Sitetype: IAf |
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Well situated at the highest point of Cannock Chase (244m) with superb views all round, this roughly pentagonal fort has defenses that vary with the topography: from 2 banks and ditches with a counterscarp bank on N and W, to 5 banks and 4 ditches on the flatter S/SE. The original entrance was on the E - the others now visible being recent. At E end of interior are the foundations of a 12th or 13th century hunting lodge. Rectangular in outline with 1.5m thick stone footing oriented N-S, having a screen passage near S end.
Castle Ring, hill-fort (SK/045128) 4½ miles N of Brownhills (A5, A452, B4155), N of Cannock Wood, NW of Park Gate Inn. - One of the most striking hill-forts in England, Castle Ring stands on high ground commanding the country in every direction. Its internal area is 8½ acres. It is 5-sided, its W and N sides being protected by 2 banks and ditches with a counterscarp bank. On the S and SE sides, where flat ground made extra defences necessary, there are 5 banks and ditches. The original and only entrance is through the E side at the Lodge, S of which the multiplication of the defences begins. Here the innermost bank is in-turned. There appears to be a sunken track leading down the hillside NE from this entrance. Not Dated.
