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{{Short description|Hill in Hampshire, England}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

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239.7acre|abbr=off}}|notifydate= 1984|map= Magic Map }}

factoids

| map = United Kingdom Hampshire| map_caption = Butser Hill in Hampshire| map_size = 300| label_position = right| grid_ref_UK = SU716203Ordnance Survey>OS Landranger 197| type = | age = | easiest_route = }}Butser Hill is a hill and nature reserve in Hampshire, England. South-west of Petersfield, it is a {{convert| 239.7 |ha|acre|abbr=off |adj=on }} biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.WEB,designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1004498&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=, Designated Sites View: Butser Hill, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Natural England, 8 May 2020, WEB,magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271004498%27, Map of Butser Hill, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Natural England, 8 May 2020, It is a national nature reserveWEB,designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=1007231&SiteName=butser&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=, Designated Sites View: Butser Hill, National Nature Reserves, Natural England, 24 April 2020, and a Special Area of Conservation.WEB,designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0030103&SiteName=butser&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=, Designated Sites View: Butser Hill, Special Areas of Conservation, Natural England, 24 April 2020, Part of it is a Geological Conservation Review siteWEB,archive.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=780, Rake Bottom (Quaternary of South Central England), Geological Conservation Review, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 21 April 2020, {{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and an area of {{convert|84.8|ha|acre|abbr=off}} is Oxenbourne Down, which is designated a Local Nature Reserve.WEB,designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteLNRDetail.aspx?SiteCode=L1009059&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=, Designated Sites View: Oxenbourne Down, Clanfield, Local Nature Reserves, Natural England, 24 April 2020, Part of it is a Scheduled Monument.WEB,historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1008692, A hilltop enclosed by Iron Age cross dykes, an associated field system and Bronze Age barrows at Butser Hill, Historic England, 8 May 2020, It is a chalk hill and one of the highest points in Hampshire. It is also the highest point on the chalk ridge of the South Downs and the second highest point in the South Downs National Park after Blackdown in the Western Weald. Although only {{convert|271|m|ft|0}} high, it qualifies as one of England’s Marilyns. It is located within the borders of the Queen Elizabeth Country Park.The name Butser comes from the Old English Bryttes Oran meaning Briht’s slope. Oran or Ora is Old English for flat topped hill and/or steep slope.Hampshire Place Names by Richard Coates Ensign Publications 1993 page 46The flat summit is surrounded by a number of spurs. Iron Age ditches and banks divide the spurs from the summit although the purpose of these earthworks is unclear.There is evidence of lynchet farming on the southeast side of the hill. The age of the lynchets is unknown but Roman pottery has been brought to the surface by rabbit holes.JOURNAL, Piggott, Stuart, March 1930, Butser hill,archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56064, Antiquity, 4, 13, 197, 10.1017/S0003598X00004506, 24 June 2018, There are aerial masts on the hill.WEB,www.caa.co.uk/docs/299/SOLENT%20GUIDE.pdf#, SOLENT Airspace guide summer 2008, 2012-07-29,www.caa.co.uk/docs/299/SOLENT%20GUIDE.pdf#," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805232144www.caa.co.uk/docs/299/SOLENT%20GUIDE.pdf#,">web.archive.org/web/20110805232144www.caa.co.uk/docs/299/SOLENT%20GUIDE.pdf#, 2011-08-05, dead, The hill was purchased by Hampshire County Council in 1966. Prior to the purchase the summit was used for growing wheat but now the only farming activity is grazing. In December 2021 a £240,000 program was announced to restore grassland on the hill and improve trails.NEWS, Napier, Andrew, 5 December 2021, Investment in Butser Hill, in South Downs National Park,www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/19754979.investment-butser-hill-south-downs-national-park/, Hampshire chronicle, 3 November 2022, Butser Hill has a rich variety of flora and fauna located upon the hill. Butser Hill is in the top twenty Hampshire chalk grassland sites for its rich vascular flora, and is the richest chalk grassland site in Hampshire in terms of its bryophyte (125 species) and lichen (82 species) flora. As well as this, over 30 species of butterfly have been recorded, including populations of Duke of Burgundy and the Silver-spotted Skipper, making the area an important conservation area for many butterfly species.There is an annual Fell Run called the Butser Hill Challenge that involves running up and down the hill three times.NEWS, Brawn, David, 30 September 2014, Baker is up to the Butser Hill Challenge again,www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/other-sport/athletics/baker-is-up-to-the-butser-hill-challenge-again-1-6327628, The news, 22 September 2015, WEB,www3.hants.gov.uk/events/searcheventslisting/eventsdetail.htm?id=274369, Butser Hill Challenge, Hantsweb, Hampshire County Council, 22 September 2015,www3.hants.gov.uk/events/searcheventslisting/eventsdetail.htm?id=274369," title="web.archive.org/web/20160305011241www3.hants.gov.uk/events/searcheventslisting/eventsdetail.htm?id=274369,">web.archive.org/web/20160305011241www3.hants.gov.uk/events/searcheventslisting/eventsdetail.htm?id=274369, 5 March 2016, dead,

Miscellaneous

A spur of Butser Hill known as Little Butser was the original home of the Butser Ancient Farm experimental archaeology project.BOOK, Iron-Age farm The Butser Experiment, Reynolds, Peter J, Peter J. Reynolds, 1979, British Museum Publications Limited, 978-0-7141-8014-4, 19–20, Butser Hill has been a primary hang-gliding site since the early-1970s.WEB,skysurfingclub.co.uk/sites-guide/butser/, Butser {{!, SkySurfing Club|date=2019-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711184858skysurfingclub.co.uk/sites-guide/butser/|access-date=2019-07-11|archive-date=2019-07-11}}The 1986 Only Fools and Horses episode Tea for Three was filmed, in part, at Butser Hill.WEB,www.imdb.com/title/tt0666572/, “Only Fools and Horses” Tea for Three (TV Episode 1986) - IMDb,

See also

• Butser Ancient Farm

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References

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