The Bartlow Hills  Barrow Cemetery in Cambridgeshire

 

 

 

 

 

This is the largest barrow in Britain and very few people know of it.  Romano-British site at Bartlow is on the Essex/Cambridgeshire border at TL 586453.

 

Originally the largest group in Europe when there were seven enormous barrows here. Then the now disused railway came through and flattened four of them!

 

The largest survivor is 45 feet high and the highest in Britain by far. The wooden staircase gives access to the top without causing erosion.

 

You can then look down on the other two giants. Many suberb artefacts have been recovered and are now in Colchester Museum (Bartlow was formerly in Essex).

 

If you have visited A Major Essex Treasure you will see I made reference to "Looking for The Bartlow Hills", without any success.

The website I had obtained directions to find the site, proved to be a little misleading, infact wrong. My first visit to the village was not a success, and for some reason or other I took a dislike to the place.

 

'TAKE TWO'

I had a very prompt and helpful email from Tony at The Three Hills Inn, we didn’t need to book a table, just turn out.

We turned up, parked the car in the pub carpark, parking is a bit of a problem in Bartlow. Went in the pub, were greeted by a very friendly and charming lady..

It was suggested we went on our walk, the entrance clearly signposted in the churchyard, and don’t forget to visit the church, we had a lovely table reserved for us, and off we went .

It’s a super little walk, the village is wonderful, the church is wonderful, very fine medieval wall painting (Website to follow), infact everything was wonderful, and I now love the place, it’s a gem.

Our meal was superb, high quality and lots of it, the drinks were superb, but I was not allowed to have lots of it. As an extra comment, Sue is a bit fussy about loo’s , The Three Hills passed with Sues Gold Toilet Award .

So if you not interested in Barrow Mounds. Pretty Villages. Medieval Wall Paintings or Railway Branch Lines, Audley End to Bartlow Branch , I truly recommend The Three Hills, we will go there again.

 

 

 

 

PHOTO GALLERY

 

 

 

BARTLOW VILLAGE

ST MARYS

EXAMPLE WALL PAINTING

FOOTPATH FROM CHURCHYARD

MIDDLE BARROW

SUE ON TOP

GOING DOWN

PUB SIGN

VILLAGE SIGN

 

 

PLACE POINTER OVER PICTURES FOR CAPTIONS

 

 

Bartlow in the 1930's

 

BARTLOW HAMLET, or Bartlow End, including part of the village of Ashdon and Steventon End, called in Domesday "Stavintuna," is a civil parish in this county and adjoins Great Bartlow (Cambridgeshire), to which parish the inhabitants pay tithe and rates.

 

At Bartlow in Cambridgeshire is a station on the London and North Eastern railway, 50 miles from London.

 

Here are four celebrated harrows, known as the Bartlow Hills, and forming part of the boundary separating this county from Cambridgeshire: they were opened in 1832 and 1835, and were found to contain interesting remains and works of art of Roman workmanship: most of the relics subsequently perished in a fire, but drawings and casts are preserved in the museum at Saffron Walden. A stone trough in the garden at Ashdon rectory is said to have been brought from the Hills.

 

The area is 1,070 acres; the population in 1931 was 84.

 

 

 

 

BARTLOW

 

 

 

 

BRANCH LINE STATION

 

 

Audley End to Bartlow Branch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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