Breidden Hill
Encyclopedia
Breidden Hill is an extinct volcanic hill, located on the border between Shropshire
, England and Powys
, Wales, near the town of Llandrinio
. The peak of the hill reaches to 1199 ft. Footpaths which lead up to the summit provide excellent 360 degree views over the Shropshire Plain and Mid-Wales.
Breidden Hill is one of five peaks with neighbouring Moel y Golfa, which is the highest at 404m (1324 ft) , which is a "Marilyn
". The others are: Cefn y Castell, also known as Middletown Hill, Kemsters Hill and the 800 plus feet high Bausley Hill with its Iron Age
galleried fortification. The five hills are sometimes collectively known as the Breidden Hills, and form a northern extension of the Long Mountain
.
There are remains of a British Iron Age
hillfort en route which may have been the site of the last stand of Caractacus. Rodney's Pillar at the top was built by the gentlemen of Montgomeryshire
who supplied oak
wood
from the area and shipped them down the River Severn
to Bristol
where Admiral Rodney's
naval fleet was built. Beginning around 1789, for many years members of the Breidden Society, founded by John Dovaston (1740–1808), met near Rodney's Pillar for an annual festival of food, drink, poetry, and song; records of their meetings for 1809-15 are preserved at Harvard University (Houghton Library MS Eng 1168).
There is a large quarry
on the western and northern sides of Breidden Hill. The rock is a thick gabbroic-dolerite laccolith
, which is a source of roadstone.
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England and Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales, near the town of Llandrinio
Llandrinio
Llandrinio is a small village in Powys, mid Wales, close to the Wales-England border.Llandrinio is home to about 1,000 people spread over a reasonably large area. The village first had a large population growth by the addition of a council estate many years ago...
. The peak of the hill reaches to 1199 ft. Footpaths which lead up to the summit provide excellent 360 degree views over the Shropshire Plain and Mid-Wales.
Breidden Hill is one of five peaks with neighbouring Moel y Golfa, which is the highest at 404m (1324 ft) , which is a "Marilyn
Marilyn (hill)
A Marilyn is a mountain or hill in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man with a relative height of at least 150 metres , regardless of absolute height or other merit...
". The others are: Cefn y Castell, also known as Middletown Hill, Kemsters Hill and the 800 plus feet high Bausley Hill with its Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
galleried fortification. The five hills are sometimes collectively known as the Breidden Hills, and form a northern extension of the Long Mountain
Long Mountain (Powys)
The Long Mountain is a hill to the east of Welshpool in Powys, Wales. It rises to a height of 408m at Beacon Ring, where there is a hill fort.The Long Mountain extends from Forden in the southwest to Vennington in Shropshire to the northeast...
.
There are remains of a British Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
hillfort en route which may have been the site of the last stand of Caractacus. Rodney's Pillar at the top was built by the gentlemen of Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
who supplied oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
from the area and shipped them down the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
where Admiral Rodney's
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
naval fleet was built. Beginning around 1789, for many years members of the Breidden Society, founded by John Dovaston (1740–1808), met near Rodney's Pillar for an annual festival of food, drink, poetry, and song; records of their meetings for 1809-15 are preserved at Harvard University (Houghton Library MS Eng 1168).
There is a large quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
on the western and northern sides of Breidden Hill. The rock is a thick gabbroic-dolerite laccolith
Laccolith
A laccolith is a sheet intrusion that has been injected between two layers of sedimentary rock. The pressure of the magma is high enough that the overlying strata are forced upward, giving the laccolith a dome or mushroom-like form with a generally planar base.Laccoliths tend to form at relatively...
, which is a source of roadstone.
See also
- List of hill forts in Wales
- Bredon HillBredon HillBredon Hill is a hill in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton and it extends over parts of eight other parishes...
and BredonBredonBredon is a large village and civil parish in Wychavon District at the southern edge of Worcestershire in England. It lies on the banks of the River Avon on the lower slopes of Bredon Hill, at “the beginning of the Cotswolds”...
village in WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...