Ringmoor

Ringmoor

Looking east across the site
Shown within Dorset
Location	Near Turnworth, Dorset
Coordinates	50°52′35″N 2°16′25″W
OS grid reference	ST 808 086
History
Periods	Iron Age

The Ringmoor settlement is an Iron Age/Romano-British farming settlement in Dorset, England. It is between the villages of Okeford Fitzpaine and Turnworth, and lies on east-facing slopes of Bell Hill, on the Dorset Downs.

The site is owned by the National Trust,[1] and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[2]

Earthworks

The site is well preserved in unploughed downland. There is a farmstead, an oval enclosure about 45 metres (148 ft) by 33 metres (108 ft), with an entrance on the east; inside are levelled areas, thought to be the sites of buildings. Outside the enclosure, trackways and field systems are still clearly visible as banks in the grassland.[2][3]

More recent occupation

Painting of Ringmoor Cottages

Ruins of Ringmoor Cottages – gable wall in 2020

Ringmoor Cottages, built in the mid 19th century, once stood on the site, but they were vacated and demolished in the early 1950s.[3]

References

1. "Earthwork Remains of Turnworth Iron Age Settlement, Ringmoor" National Trust. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
2. Historic England. "Earthworks on Ringmoor (1002447)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
3. 'Turnworth', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central (London, 1970), pp. 290–292 British History Online. Retrieved 29 June 2020.