Hengistbury Head Totally Explained

Everything about Hengistbury Head totally explained

Hengistbury Head is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Christchurch in the English county of Dorset.
At the end is a spit which creates the narrow entrance to Christchurch Harbour.

The name

The region was originally named Hynesbury Head. However, after the discovery of the Iron Age artifacts–and in apparent confusion over a reference to the area as Hedenesburia–it was renamed Hengistbury Head after the Jutish king Hengest.

History

The promontory has witnessed a long sequence of human occupation but is most famous as a fortified Iron Age mercantile centre playing an important role in cross-Channel trade between Britain and Gaul.

Stone Age

Long prior to this, the site was occupied during the Upper Palaeolithic. There is evidence of an open settlement of the Creswellian culture on the hill in the middle of the headland dating to around 10,500 BC. At the time, this hill would have overlooked a large river valley that was to become the English Channel. Later, once the sea had inundated the surrounding valley, Mesolithic hunter gatherers exploited the site and Neolithic stone tools have been found but it wasn't until the Bronze Age that visible traces of the site's occupation are apparent.

Bronze Age

Eleven Bronze Age round barrows sit on the promontory with two more a little further inland. Amber and gold jewellery was recovered from these tombs. The site seems to have then been abandoned until around 700 BC when the headland was cut off from the mainland by the construction of two banks and ditches. These earthworks turned Hengistbury Head into a fortified settlement area which seems to have grown over succeeding centuries until it became an important port.
By 300 BC, the site was trading with Gaul and the Mediterranean, importing coloured glass, Italian wine, figs and Breton pottery. Goods being exported included iron ore, salt and cattle. There was possibly a mint working alongside the port, producing bronze staters as well as silversmithing. This trade continued into the Roman period when the site was abandoned, probably in favour of more Romanised ports elsewhere along the coast for the Bronze Age workers.
The barrows at the site were first excavated by J. P. Bushe-Fox between 1911 and 1912 and then by Harold St George Gray in the years following the First World War. Most of our knowledge of the site comes from Barry Cunliffe's work there between 1979 and 1984.

Iron Age

One side of the Head is defended by large earthworks, called the "double dykes", similar to those found at Maiden Castle. These date to approximately 100 BC. Due to the high concentration of iron ore in the area, this location became a significant trading port, trading worked metal–iron, silver, and bronze–with the Continent in return for wine, tools, and pottery. Many coins have been found from this period (making it one of the few areas in pre-Roman Britain to use coins). Interestingly, some of them were fake–worthless cores dipped in silver!

Roman occupation

Under the Romans, Hengistbury Head was initially left alone, possibly as a result of its distance from Roman centers of power. However, as Roman rule expanded, trade was moved away from the Head to other Roman ports. Consequently, the region saw a decline in prosperity, and indeed, by about the time the Romans left (c.410 AD), the area was abandoned.

Medieval use

The area wasn't substantially reoccupied until Alfred the Great decided to rebuild the harbor to defend against raiders. He built the town that later became Christchurch, only a few kilometres from the Head. Presumably the Head would have been used as a harbor defense at this time.

The Head today

The head today is used for a variety of reasons. Firstly it's a tourist spot where country walks can be taken all over the head due to the well defined gravel paths, some of which form part of the Bournemouth Coast Path. There is a cafe at the bottom of the head on the Bournemouth side and a scenic land train to the end of the spit, a journey of ten or so minutes. On the head itself is a RNLI lookout station, a nature reserve and a triangulation pillar. Ample parking can be found near the cafe, as can a hut containing further information about the head. On windy days the head is very good for kite flying.
Due to the dense bracken and grass on many parts it has suffered several severe fires in the past decade. Care must be taken not to leave glass bottles lying on the ground and to dispose of cigarettes carefully, especially in summer months. Luckily the ecosystem is quick to heal itself so evidence of this isn't easily found.

Fauna

The fields and reserved areas near the carpark provide an ideal spot to watch and listen to a significant population of Skylarks during the summer months.

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