Frankenbury Camp

Frankenbury Camp is an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire. It sits on a gentle rise above the Avon Valley near the north-western edge of the New Forest. The fort covers about eleven acres and is bordered by steep natural slopes on two sides. A low rampart and ditch once defended the gentler slopes on the north-east. The original entrance on the south-east corner has been widened over time. The site is listed as a scheduled ancient monument and today forms part of the pasture at Folds Farm. The fort has yielded Iron Age and Roman finds that show its long use. Excavators recovered Iron Age and Roman pottery from old gravel pits and farmland around the camp. Iron Age coins of the Durotriges tribe were found at Tinker’s Cross in 1969. Roman coins, including one struck for Constantine between 306 and 337, turned up in gardens near Godshill and Avon Lodge. These artefacts now belong to Salisbury Museum. Visitors walk earthworks still lined with trees on the south and west. The north-east rampart and ditch remain visible where the slopes were gentler. The summit stands seventy metres above sea level and offers wide views over the valley. Sandy Balls estate lies immediately to the south. The site lies between the villages of Godshill and Fordingbridge.