Knowlton Circles

The Knowlton Circles form a group of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments near Knowlton in Dorset. The site includes four enclosures: Church Henge, Knowlton North, Knowlton South and Old Churchyard. Church Henge, the best preserved, surrounds the ruins of a medieval church. The Great Barrow, the largest in Dorset, stands nearby crowned with trees. At least thirty-five round barrows are scattered across the landscape, showing the area’s importance in ancient times. The monuments show how people used the land over thousands of years. Church Henge measures about 106 metres by 94 metres with a ditch and bank up to 1.75 metres high. Excavations found an Anglo-Saxon cemetery east of Church Henge with sixteen burials. The church itself has parts from the 12th century with later additions before it was abandoned in the 18th century. Knowlton South, the largest henge, stretches about 250 metres across and was cut by a modern road. Visitors walk among grassy banks and ditches that mark the henges. The Great Barrow rises six metres high with two old ditches around it. Cropmarks show where ploughing has levelled other sites like Knowlton North and Old Churchyard. The church ruins sit inside Church Henge, linking ancient rituals with later Christian use. The wide views across the Dorset countryside show why this place was chosen long ago.