Where! or who cares I hear you say but although it doesn't compare with Maiden or Badbury Rings, this fort's past is no less interesting. The ancient fort is positioned at Godshill Wood, Nr Fordingbridge in Hampshire and was the stronghold of the local tribes. By and large, they were a peaceful bunch who traded far and wide as recent excavations have shown items from Rome, Gaul and Egypt have been uncovered. Unfortunately their next door neighbours, the heathen Britons from Cranbourne Chase repeatedly raided the trading camp at Crystal Hollow. This eventually led to a palisade being constructed from the trading station along the mile long ridge to the hill fort thus giving a protected escape route. The fort itself was a timber construction with a protective ditch to the south and east while the north and west were defended by the natural slopes leading down to the River Avon. The gateway was protected by a secondary palisade and bailey. I recently visited the fort and realised just how strategic it was, as not only were the inhabitants defended by the River Avon which couldn't be crossed in winter but a raiding party could be spotted almost a days march away. The problems started not with Rome with whom they traded but with a Saxon chief called Cerdic, who landed in Hampshire in AD 491. There was permanent skirmishing until Natan Leod a British chieftan was defeated and killed in a major battle at Netly Marsh near Toton giving the Saxons control of the New Forest. Cerdic being permanently reinforced by Saxons hearing of the rich pickings advanced up the River Avon and eventually crossed swords with General Aurilius at Godshill AD 519. General Aurilius decided that he would meet Cerdic in the open and crossed the River Avon at Bredmore. Shortly afterwards he was reinforced by another Army from Whitsbury under a chief Cain their combined forces numbering 8000 men. Aurilius was informed that the Saxons were advancing from the hills on his left and deemed it wise to meet on the flat, so slowly marched to the level plain besides the river. There in the wood he placed two large war bands to attack Cerdics flank then moved eastward towards the river at Charford and drew up his battle line leaving Alvin and his band as a rear guard. At first General Aurilius fared well giving no ground but eventually Cerdic was reinforced by the Saxon Cymric with a force of 600 cavalry. These immediately attacked Aurilius' flank and defeated his rear guard leaving the general surrounded. He was finally killed, his warriors heaped around him choosing a last ditch stand. Cerdic then crossed the river at Cerdics Ford and attacked the hill fort at Godshill before any stray Britons could reinforce it. The Britons fought well but the Castle Garrison was small and the result inevitable. Cerdic also having suffered heavy losses and wishing to appear a good guy really offered parley, with the result that the Britons put down arms at what is known today as Armslay. The following day Cerdic ordered the fort dismantled and left to trounce someone else no doubt. He finally died in AD 534. I can only assume that Cerdic assaulted the fort from the south as the slopes leading to the River Avon look invincible and to think as children we used to slide down them in a tin bath I think we would have been safer with General Aurilius. I re-enacted the battle using DBA using two tiles 2' x 2', the river between the two and the stronghold at one end and the battle of Charford fought at the other. I used equal armies but Cerdic's cavalry came in on bound 3 as extras. I must be honest that I failed miserably to re-write history, floundering in the river but have you ever tried swimming in a mail shirt?! Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #105 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com