<< Our Photo Pages >> Croham Hurst - Round Barrow(s) in England in Greater London

Submitted by vicky on Saturday, 06 December 2003  Page Views: 18987

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Croham Hurst
Country: England County: Greater London Type: Round Barrow(s)
Nearest Town: Croydon
Map Ref: TQ338632  Landranger Map Number: 176
Latitude: 51.352131N  Longitude: 0.079976W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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Croham Hurst
Croham Hurst submitted by jonnee23 : The barrow is unremarkable and difficult to capture let alone trace - but well worth a visit. By my wanderings of all the supposed barrows in Greater London this is definitely the most genuine and atmospheric. A plaque marks the site, but you can't help thinking there may be other evidence of others around... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Round Barrow in Greater London

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
TQ3363 : Plaque on Breakneck Hill by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2020(licence)
TQ3363 : Croham Hurst by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2021(licence)
TQ3363 : Croham Hurst by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2021(licence)
TQ3363 : Site of a Bronze Age Barrow by Des Blenkinsopp
by Des Blenkinsopp
©2018(licence)
TQ3363 : Croham Hurst by Peter Trimming
by Peter Trimming
©2020(licence)

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"Croham Hurst" | Login/Create an Account | 12 News and Comments
  
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Re: Croham Hurst Round Barrow by Andy B on Wednesday, 25 March 2020
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Croydon APA 1.1: Croham Hurst Round Barrow
The Archaeological Priority Area covers an area at the summit of Croham Hurst which is a ridge that projects from the North Downs. The APA covers Croham Hurst Round Barrow and five hut structures which are thought to be prehistoric, one of which was excavated in 1969. The APA is classed as Tier 1 because the barrow is a Scheduled Monument and the hut structures could be regarded as undesignated assets equivalent to a Scheduled Monument.

The round barrow was not identified until the 1940s and was scheduled in 1951. It has an approximate diameter of 11m and is 0.4m high making it somewhat small and difficult to discern within the landscape. It is a bowl barrow which is the most common type of round barrow, most of which were constructed in the late Neolithic or Bronze Age periods (the majority date from 2200BC-1500BC).

A scraper was found in an animal burrow in the side of the barrow which appeared to date from the early Bronze Age. Barrows were often located in prominent positions, such as the Croham Hurst example which is located at the highest point of the hill. Since its identification it has never been thoroughly investigated and it is unknown how many burials are in or around it. Such barrows normally had surrounding ditches created after the earth was extracted to deposit over the burials but no such ditch surrounding the Croham Hurst barrow has been positively identified.

However, it is possible that such a ditch has been filled in since the barrow’s creation. Later burials could be inserted into the mound or placed around it. Five sub rectangular enclosures, which are thought to represent former huts, are present to the south-west of the round barrow and appear on the surface as a series of banks.

In the late 19th century a collection of approximately 140 flints was found in this area and in 1968 and 1969 these enclosures were examined more thoroughly. One of the huts was excavated and it was found that the banks that were visible on the surface were formed of pebbles and sandy soil and were the remains of turf walls. There was an entrance at the eastern end of the hut and six post holes which would have supported a roof were also uncovered.

An earlier hut was found underneath the western side of the hut which also had post holes and a pit which may have been a storage pit or a fire pit. The walls of this earlier hut contained the same material as the walls of the excavated hut and another hut that was partially excavated also had similar walls. It therefore appears that all the huts belonged to the same period.

A large amount of flint was also recovered during the excavation some of which had been worked into tools such as axes, scrapers, awls, burins and arrowheads although the majority of flint fragments appeared to be waste flakes. More than 2400 flints had been subjected to fire, possibly for cooking purposes. Dating the settlement proved to be problematic because apart from the structures and the flints no other material that could be dated was recovered.

The form of the hut structures, the types of flint tools and the absence of any pottery led to the site being tentatively dated to the late Mesolithic period. It is possible that the flints and structures were not contemporaneous and the people working the extracted flint may have lived elsewhere. It is therefore unclear if any form of settlement was present on Croham Hurst when the barrow was created.

A sample of charcoal from the fire pit found in one of the excavated huts was sent for radiocarbon dating and gave a result of the early 9th century AD during the Anglo-Saxon period. This is problematic since no other Saxon material has been found on Croham Hurst and the hut structures and flints do not appear to date from the Saxon period. It is possible that the charcoal sample had been contaminated in some way which led to an erroneous result. Neverthe

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Re: Croham Hurst by pm5057 on Saturday, 14 September 2019
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Follow this link to a dowsing map of this site which has interesting connections with dowseable energy lines in the South of England and beyond. Go to

http://dowsingmaps.org.uk/place_list.htm
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Sunday, 07 January 2018
This site has a special atmosphere. The trees around the ancient barrow, which is said to be as old as 5000-7000 years, are Scotts Pines - an ancient and spirituality significant tree. The trees have spread a little from the barrow over the centuries and the local council proposed to cut down these trees sometime around 2002/3. Thankfully, the Friends of Croham Hurst group successfully campaigned against the proposal. One pine tree grows from the very centre of the barely perceptible earth mound and it feels a very special tree. I noticed on one visit that a ring of small pebbles had been made around the base of the tree's trunk, which added to the spiritual atmosphere. I try to help maintain that when I visit. My dog however won't follow me into the barrow area which is interesting. Looking south-east from the superb viewpoint you have a clear line to the high places of Coulsdon valley and beyond. It's an exceptionally green view considering all the buildings you'd encounter along that corridor at street level. It's easy sit on the brnvh there and look out, imagining the ancient people marking their sacred festivals by lighting beacons across these hills.
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Monday, 29 September 2008
I lived opposite Croham Hurst and spent my childhood and early teens here. I now live in Morden and would love my ashes to be scatterred here.

24 glorious years.

Mark Bielecki.
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Sunday, 27 July 2008
We have lived in and around Croydon for over 20 years and today my wife and I happened upon Croham Hurst after looking for an interesting local walk. What a gem this place is, a fabulous setting with glorious panoramic views. I did not know this was on my doorstep and shall certainly be returning. We did not see a soul for hours. Just perfect.
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Re: Croham Hurst by Chasm on Tuesday, 17 June 2008
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Found this site thru the Megalithic portal. It is a marvellous place, rightly designated a site of special scientific interest. My second visit saddened me because some sub-human moron had defaced the plaque at the barrow site with painted graffitti.

Following the recent storm a number of trees were blown over, allowing a look at the soil 2 or 3 feet below the surface. As stated previously there is an abundance of very rounded pebbles, even at the crest, indicating fast moving water, possibly from the meltdown at the end of the ice age. Many of these pebbles have a characteristic rusty brown tinge, indicating the presence of iron.

This place just cries out for further research and investigation, and I plan to revisit the area regularly. It is superbly atmospheric.
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Saturday, 07 October 2006
Panoramic wide angle photo of Croham Hurst taken by me , currently part of the Heathland Exhibition in the "Clocktower Court" area of Croydon Clocktower, Katharine street, Croydon from 2nd - 25th October 2006.... hope you like it (prints available).

Email: [email protected]
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Wednesday, 07 September 2005
This fantastic site is on the edge of Breakneck Hill in South Croydon which reaches an angle of 45 degrees at some points with views of SE Surrey. Surrounded by woods with some, but very few ancient trees. Archeological digs unearthed two round huts and a burial mound from the bronze age - now surrounded by a circle of trees. Croham Hurst is a site of natural and sientific interest. The ground and, most likely, the whole hill site is made up of tiny pebbles like a sea shore and is the first point (other than Crystal Palace) where the ground raises above sea level at the edge of the Thames Valley. Imagining or remembering a more watery, even Ice-Age London is not difficult when examining the geology of this site. From Croham Hurst moving East to Shirley one is struck with a phenomenal view of the whole of the Thames Valley when looking North. With a good pair of binoculars you can watch planes land at Heathrow, 25 odd miles away, looking west from the round barrow site. I have detected an energy / ley line on this site with a pendulum and rods but seek more experienced dowsers for conclusion. Croham Hurst is a secret gem. Visit is a must.
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    Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Friday, 15 July 2011
    Did you get any help with the dowsing ?
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Wednesday, 31 August 2005
Excavated in 1945, Surrey AC 49
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Re: Croham Hurst by Anonymous on Tuesday, 27 January 2004
Amazing old barrow... fantastic views, brilliant sunsets... I wish I could get more information on this massively spiritual site that is almost on my doorstep... but it seems to have been overlooked by the local historians who seem to favour churches in Sanderstead, perhaps they are just not interested in anything at all pagan?
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    Re: Croham Hurst by Thorgrim on Tuesday, 27 January 2004
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    Sounds interesting. It would be good to have a photograph on the Portal. Could you send anything to us? Thanks.
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