Hillforts of the Cheshire Ridge ─ Investigations Undertaken by the Habitats and Hillforts Landscape Partnership Scheme 2009 - 2012

The Cheshire hillforts are some of the most conspicuous features of the prehistoric landscape in Cheshire. Outside of archaeological circles, however, they have almost become ‘lost’ in the landscape and in the awareness of the wider community, due to land use changes in the centuries following their construction. Various studies have been undertaken on the hillforts of Cheshire (see Chapter 2), but even so, there is limited information about these sites in terms of chronology, function, occupation history, economy and status. Considering that these hillforts stand as such important elements of the prehistory of the region, the lack of information about them is a major gap in our understanding. The Habitats and Hillforts of Cheshire’s Sandstone Ridge Landscape Partnership Project was focussed on six of the Cheshire hillforts and their surrounding habitats and landscapes. It aimed to develop understanding of the chronology and role of the hillforts, raise awareness of these special assets and the issues affecting them, improve their condition and their physical linkages with the surrounding landscape and encourage more people to enjoy them and to take an active role in their management. The Habitats and Hillforts Project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the Landscape Partnership Scheme programme, which focusses on areas of distinctive landscape character. The Project was based on the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, which runs north to south in Central Cheshire and has been identified as a distinct character area by the Countryside Character volume for the Northwest of England (Countryside Commission 1998: 145–152). This area formed the limits for an EU LIFE ECOnet network which was given the title of the Sandstone Ridge ECOnet Partnership (SREP), formed as part of an initiative by Cheshire County Council (CCC) in 2005.