Belmont Hill Fort

Belmont Hill Fort can be seen from Belmont School

Belmont hill top enclosure or ‘hill fort’ with its lone Ash tree can be seen for kilometres on a fine day. The monument as its classification suggests encompasses the summit of Belmont Hill. The enclosure is slightly oval in shape and covers an area of nearly 1.5ha. The crest of the hill is 92m high. It is enclosed by a well preserved bank with an external ditch or fosse. A stone wall external to that appears to have been constructed on top of an outer bank. Traces of a second ditch have also been recorded. A smaller enclosure within the main feature functioned as a private burial ground for the Blake family who were local landlords. Inside there are two 19th century gravestones, one of which is dedicated to George Blake, dated 1840. Also present are a number of crude stone markers indicating the presence of two children’s graves. While the monument is classified as a ‘hill top enclosure’ in the Record of Monuments and Places published by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, this monument is generally referred to in published material as a ‘hill fort’. Such monuments are difficult to date with any accuracy without undertaking archaeological excavation.