Knowlton Circles

The Knowlton Circles are a cluster of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments near Knowlton.[1] There are four enclosures, three are of normal henge form, Church Henge, Knowlton North and Knowlton South, and the fourth is a squarish enclosure known as Old Churchyard.[1] Church Henge is the best preserved of these monuments and encloses the ruins of Knowlton Church.[1] Nearby is the large round barrow known as Great Barrow and a number of other round barrows are also focused on the area.[1]

Church Henge (also known as the Central Circle, grid reference SU02391028) is the best preserved of the three henges at Knowlton. It is an oval enclosure surrounded by a ditch and earthwork bank.[2] The enclosure is orientated roughly northeast to southwest and measures 106 metres by 94 metres.[2] The enclosing ditch is 10 metres wide and up to 1 metre deep.[2] The outer banks are 10 metres in width and stand up to 1.75 metres high.[2] They consist of a series of straight lengths linked by rounded corners. Three gaps are present in the bank, to the southwest, east and northeast.[2] It unclear which of the gaps are original, although the east entrance is likely to be original, whereas the west entrance was altered at a later date, possibly after the construction of the church.[2]

Map of the Knowlton Circles henge complex

Knowlton church stands in the middle of the henge, and symbolises the transition from pagan to Christian worship.[3] Early Christian activity at Knowlton is indicated by a mid-to-late Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery which was discovered to the east of Church Henge in 1958.[4] Excavations located sixteen burials within chalk-cut graves, some aligned east-west.[4] The earliest parts of the church are the 12th century chancel and nave and there are 15th and 18th century additions and alterations.[3] In the 18th century the roof fell in and the church was abandoned.[3]

Knowlton North (grid reference SU02301045) is a small henge to the northwest of Church Henge, and is the northernmost henge in the Knowlton group.[5] It has largely been destroyed by ploughing.[5] The site is clearly visible as cropmarks, although its original form is uncertain.[5] It appears to be an elongated oval enclosure comprising a ditch with external bank, orientated roughly northwest to south east with a maximum diameter of 94 metres.[5] There is a large entrance on the southeast side.[5]

Knowlton South (grid reference SU02460996) is the southernmost of the henges and is also the largest.[6] It still partially survives as an earthwork though it has suffered from ploughing and parts are better visible as cropmarks.[6] The henge is now bisected by the Cranborne to Wimborne road, and farm buildings occupy part of the western side.[6] The maximum diameter of the henge is around 250 metres.[6] The enclosure is defined by a ditch and outer bank separated by a berm.[6] It appears to have been constructed as a series of straight lengths linked by shorter curving lengths. It is best preserved on the north-west side where the bank is 13 metres wide and about 1.2 metres high, separated by a berm 3.5 metres across from the ditch.[6] The ditch is 15 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep.[6] It is not known where the original entrance was, and it may lie to the west under the road or the farm buildings.[6]

Old Churchyard (grid reference SU02241037) is an enclosure of uncertain origin and function situated southwest of the North Circle.[7] It has been almost completely levelled by ploughing but it still visible as a cropmark.[7] It is a rounded square in plan, about 60 metres in diameter, and is bounded by a low bank and an external ditch.[7]

Great Barrow viewed from Church Henge

Great Barrow (grid reference SU02541028) is a large round barrow of probable Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age date.[8] It is east of Church Henge,[8] and crowned with a clump of trees.[9] It is the largest barrow in Dorset.[9] The barrow is a mound 40 metres in diameter and 6 metres high, surrounded by two concentric ditches, both largely levelled by ploughing.[8] The inner ditch is separated from the mound by a 5 metre berm.[8] The outer ditch is 10 metres wide, 1.5 metres deep and is 120 metres in diameter.[8]

There are at least 35 barrows known in the Knowlton Circles Barrow Group including The Great Barrow.[10] It is one of the greatest concentrations of round barrows in Dorset.[9] Most are only known as cropmarks, although some are visible to the southwest of the South Circle.[10] The barrows can be placed into three groups: located south and south west of the South Circle, north of the South Circle and around the Church Henge, and north east of the henges.[10] This cluster of barrows indicates that the Knowlton Circles were an important religious centre.[10]

• Dorset Cursus to the northwest of Knowlton Circles

• Knowlton Church and Earthworks, English Heritage
• Knowlton Circles - Aerial Survey Investigations, English Heritage Research
• Knowlton Church and Earthworks on Google Arts & Culture