 The hill is usually accepted as the place mentioned in an entry in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" for 835 (corrected by scholars to 838) which says that Egbert king of the West Saxons defeated an army of Vikings and Cornish at the Battle of Hingston Down ("Hengestdūn" = "Stallion Hill").The Hingston Down Consols mine on the hill is the type locality for the mineral Arthurite, which was discovered here.There is also a quarry on the hill, which forms the Hingston Down Quarry & Consols Site of Special Scientific Interest, noted for its mineralisation.