12 BUCKTON AND COXALL (C.a.)
(O.S. 6 in. (a)II, S.W., (b)II, S.E.)
Buckton and Coxall is a small parish on the N.W.
border of the county 12 m. N.W. of Leominster. Coxall Knoll Camp is the principal monument.
Secular
a(1). Cottage, on the E. side of the road, 150 yards
N. of Buckton Farm, is of two storeys, timber-framed
and with a thatched roof. It was built early in the
17th century on an L-shaped plan with the wings
extending towards the S. and W. The external timber-framing and the ceiling-beams are exposed.
Condition—Poor.
Unclassified
a(2). Mound, S.W. of Buckton Farm, is of roughly
oval form with a surrounding ditch, partly destroyed.
The mound is about 130 ft. in diameter at the base and
rises about 14 ft. above the bottom of the ditch. It was
perhaps a castle-mound or tump.
Condition—Bad.
Coxall Knoll Camp
a(3). Coxall Knoll Camp (860 ft. above O.D.),
stands on the W. border of the parish and is more
than half in Shropshire. It is situated on the summit
of Coxall Knoll (Plate 4), and the work consists of
E., W. and N. enclosures, all within a continuous
line of defence. The W. enclosure is defended on its
northern half by three ramparts and two intermedial
ditches, and on the S. by a berm with a natural steep
scarp below it, and an artificially steepened scarp above.
It is divided from the E. enclosure by a double rampart
and medial ditch. Within this enclosure the ground
rises steeply from the W., N. and S. ramparts forming
a ridge, the sides of which show signs of irregular
terracing which, however, has been much damaged
and obliterated by planting, etc. The defences of the
E. enclosure consist of two ramparts with a medial
ditch, though the outer rampart has largely disappeared.
Within the inner rampart of this enclosure is an almost
continuous spoil-ditch which, on the northern side, is
still wet, for much of its length was probably used
for water storage. The N. and smallest enclosure is
likewise defended by a double rampart and medial
ditch, and here, again, the outer rampart is only very
fragmentary. The entrances to the camp are four in
number: (a) The main entrance to the W. enclosure is
protected by the return of the inner rampart on each side
of the gap, a traverse consisting of a ditch, outer rampart
with a berm and a scarp on the outer side of the
latter, and the extension outwards of the outermost N.
rampart. (b) On the south, at the junction of the W.
and E. enclosures would appear to be the original
entrance to the latter. It has the rampart turned inwards on its W. side, (c) and (d) the two existing
entrances to the N. enclosure. The former, which
has the rampart turned inwards on its N. side and
flanked on its E. side by the main rampart of the E.
enclosure, may be original, but this is uncertain, while
(d) is merely a straight cut through the ramparts and
might be of any date, but the rough outworks to
the N. of this entrance would suggest that it was not
modern though perhaps a later addition. Within the
camp there is an entrance from the N. enclosure to the
E. through the N. rampart of the latter (Plate 3) and
one from the E. enclosure to the W. passing through
the E. rampart of the latter. The outwork referred to
consists of a slight bank and ditch running in a N.W.
direction for 110 yards from near the N. enclosure
and dying out where the slope becomes more
rapid.
Within the N.E. enclosure is a stone of rough form
6–7 ft. across and 2 ft. thick. It now lies flat, but the
weathering on the surface suggests that it formerly
stood upright.
There is an incorrect plan of this work in General
Roy's Military Antiq's. of the Romans.
Condition—Fairly good.
b(4). Mounds on the E. border of the parish about
¾ m. N.E. of Buckton Farm. Of the two mounds the
more noteworthy is of oval form about 81 yards by
62 yards, and rises about 9½ ft. above the surrounding
ground. It is surrounded by a ditch which has
been deepened if not made in modern times. The
southern mound is also of irregular form, flattened on
one side; it is about 71 yards by 43 yards across and
rises about 9½ ft. above the surrounding ground. There
are traces of a ditch on the W. and S. Both mounds
stand in flat marshy land.
Condition—Fairly good.