Barr Hill
Fort (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Barr Hill
Classification Fort (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Springholm
Canmore ID 64944
Site Number NX86NW 10
NGR NX 815 693
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/64944
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Urr
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Stewartry
- Former County Kirkcudbrightshire
NX86NW 10 815 693.
There are slight remains of a contour fort consisting of a sub-oval area at NX 815 693 650' N-S by c. 485' transversely, on the summit of Barr Hill, 3/4 mile SE of Springholm. The defences have been heavily mutilated by cultivation.
At the N end of the fort fragments of both ramparts still survive as low banks, the innermost of which may represent a ruined wall since the core is stony and there is a large boulder, apparently in situ, embedded in the base of the inner scarp. Elsewhere, however, the ramparts have been entirely denuded, although the quarried terraces with scarps 3 - 5' high on which the ramparts were set can still be traced intermittently on the ground, while a vanished segment on the NE side, 140 yds long, is partially disclosed on the AP's (visible on AP's 106G/SCOT/UK 52: 4025-6).
Two gaps in the defences, in the centres of the N and W sides, are probably original entrances. Both occur at points where gullies running at right angles to the contours from natural entrance passages, and the rampart terminals flanking the passages are slightly inturned in both cases. There are no signs of any internal structures.
RCAHMS typescript 9 April 1953
Fort as described and planned by RCAHMS.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 10 July 1969.
Field Visit (9 April 1953)
This site was included within the RCAHMS Marginal Land Survey (1950-1962), an unpublished rescue project. Site descriptions, organised by county, are available to view online - see the searchable PDF in 'Digital Items'. These vary from short notes, to lengthy and full descriptions. Contemporary plane-table surveys and inked drawings, where available, can be viewed online in most cases - see 'Digital Images'. The original typecripts, notebooks and drawings can also be viewed in the RCAHMS search room.
Information from RCAHMS (GFG) 19 July 2013.
Reference (1957)
This site is noted in the ‘List of monuments discovered during the survey of marginal land (1951-5)’ (RCAHMS 1957, xiv-xviii).
Information from RCAHMS (GFG), 24 October 2012.
Note (20 December 2013 - 23 May 2016)
The remains of this fort enclose the broad summit area of Barr Hill. Roughly oval on plan, the interior measures about 195m from N to S by 140m transversely (2.9ha). Where best preserved around the western half of the circuit the defences comprise twin ramparts, which variously survive as low banks on the N to stony scarps up to 1.5m in height elsewhere. There are also traces of an internal quarry scoop to the rear of the inner rampart in the NW and SE quadrants. In this latter sector only the inner rampart remains visible and both have been obliterated by cultivation around the NE. Entrances on the N and W coincide with natural gullies at which the terminals of the ramparts turn slightly inwards.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 23 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC0316
