Historic Features of Stapeley Hill

Now on the common, as you climb the gentle slope up the ridge towards Stapeley hill, notice the ridge and furrow pattern of the ground underfoot. It is thought this is relatively modern. In the war years, to support the food effort, even the gentle slopes of some commons were ploughed to maximise agricultural output.

Just beyond the first cairn lies the first of the features which is far older, a great example of a ring cairn. Common land, with its traditionally unploughed soils of permanent pasture, managed through long term commoning, have provided ideal conditions for the safeguarding of thousands of archaeological monuments.

Some 11% of all scheduled monuments in England can be found on commons. These include Mesolithic flint workings, henges, stone circles, standing stones and stone rows, barrows, hillforts, dykes, settlements, roman camps and industrial and military relics. Stapeley can boast features across several of these categories.