TOWN leaders have been given a progress report on conservation work at Woodhouse Hill in Frodsham which is included in an ambitious three-year project to protect six Iron Age hillforts and wildlife habitats along the Sandstone Trail.
Project manager, Ellie Soper, showed Frodsham Town Council an artist's impression of how the ancient Woodhouse hillfort might have looked and reported on local work undertaken so far on the Habitats and Hillforts partnership project, led by Cheshire County Council, which has secured grant funding of £1,395,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The project – which includes tree planting (and removal where necessary), surveys, footpaths and public access improvements – will improve the condition of the hillforts and associated heritage features and restore and increase wildlife habitats in the vicinity and, where appropriate, link the sites to the popular Sandstone Trail walking route.
Ellie said: “The fort at Woodhouse Hill is something a lot of people just walk past because they don't know it's there, but it's one of the major areas in the project and there is potential for some archaeological digging at the site,” said Ellie.
She said the team were investigating old stone walls at Woodhouse which may prove to be part of the original fort, and stressed they would be running training courses for people who want to help with conservation work.
