Brent Knoll: Hillfort, Church Art and Circular Walk

Brent Knoll is an island in the surrounding Levels and reaches a height of 139 m at this point. Three distinct themes can help you plan your stay: Brent Knoll Fort and its defences, the parish Church of St Michael with its architectural and decorative details, and the circular walk from Brent Knoll to East Brent. The fort can be explored through its ring shape, entrance and summit; at the church, several building periods and individual artworks are the focus. The circular walk adds a clearly specified walking distance to these themes. This lets you weigh up whether landscape and archaeology, church architecture or a named route should be the focus of your trip.

Hillfort and Landscape

Brent Knoll Fort is a large univallate hillfort with a complete defensive circuit. The entrance is flanked by guard chambers, and a hollow way leads to it. The flat summit of Brent Knoll covers 1.6 ha and is enclosed by a low bank, about 1 m high, with internal quarry ditches. These details answer different questions: the circuit describes the form of the defences, the guard chambers and hollow way characterise the entrance, and the area and bank height indicate the scale of the summit and its enclosure. This brings both the overall form and specific details of the entrance and enclosed area into focus. Those interested in archaeological sites will find several ways to understand the shape of the hillfort here.

Building History of the Church of St Michael

The parish Church of St Michael contains fabric dating from the 11th, 14th and 15th centuries; it was restored in the 19th century. The Norman south doorway features chevron ornament, a zigzag motif, and the porch dates from the early 14th century. The parts mentioned therefore belong to different periods rather than representing a single phase of construction. The church’s furnishings also offer their own historical details: it contains 14th- and 15th-century benches with allegorical panels depicting the punishment of Reynard the Fox. There is also a large painted wall monument to John Somerset, dating from 1663. Thus, architectural features with different dates stand alongside narrative panels and a dated monument. If you are interested in the church, you can focus either on its development over time or on its individual motifs and furnishings.

Circular Walk and Travel Planning

The circular walk from Brent Knoll to East Brent is 3.4 miles long. This clearly specified walking distance complements the themes of the hillfort and church architecture. The route length answers a different planning question from the area and height figures for the fort: it gives the length of a circular walk, while 1.6 ha describes the summit and about 1 m the height of the bank. These measurements and figures should therefore not be treated as equivalent. When planning your stay, you can weigh the specific route against an interest in archaeological features or church architecture. This gives you different priorities for planning your trip, without requiring the circular walk, hillfort and church to serve the same purpose.

Discover more destinations: Holford, Tintinhull, Ashcott, Clatworthy, Cutcombe, Castle Cary, Winsford, Axbridge

For the main travel overview: Somerset.