Everything about Ham Hill Somerset totally explained
Ham Hill is a
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),
Iron Age hill fort,
Roman site, and
country park, to the west of
Yeovil,
Somerset,
England.
The hill has given its name to the distinctive quarried
hamstone, and also to two nearby villages:
Stoke-sub-Hamdon and
Norton Sub Hamdon, whose names mean
under-Ham-hill (where
Ham is
Old English for a small settlement).
The hill has fine views to the
Mendip Hills and
Blackdown Hills,
Quantock Hills and
Dorset Downs. It is popular for picnicking, walking, and mountain biking in the grassy hollows of the old quarry workings.
Geology
The hill is part of ridge of sandy
limestone rock that's elevated above the lower lying
clay vales and nearby
Somerset Levels. The
sedimentary rocks were laid down in the part of the early
Jurassic known as the
Toarcian Stage.
The
hamstone is a distinctive honey-coloured building stone that has been used in local villages and for buildings such as
Montacute House and
Sherborne Abbey. Extensive old
quarry workings have changed the landscape into a warren of stoney ridges and grassy hollows. Quarrying has unearthed many important historical artifacts, but also destroyed much of the archaeological context.
The hill is an 11.1
ha geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),
notified in 1971, because of its particular importance to geologists because of the assemblages of fossils which it contains, the sedimentary features which it displays and the way it relates to other rocks of equivalent age in the close vicinity.
History
Ham Hill is the site of a very large
Bronze Age and
Iron Age hill fort of the
Durotriges tribe. The ramparts enclose an area of . Most of the perimeter is a double bank and ditch (
multivallate). There is a major entrance to the south-east, on the line of the modern road, and another to the north-east, following a track from the Stoke-sub-Hamdon church. Archaeological finds include bronze-work, chariot parts, iron currency bars, gold and silver coins, cremations and burials.
The hill was captured around 45
AD by the
Roman Second Legion (Augusta), led by the future emperor
Vespasian, who had already captured
Maiden Castle and other hill forts to the south. Many Roman military artifacts have been found, and it's quite likely that the Second Legion made a temporary camp on the hill, as at
Hod Hill.
After the initial campaigns, a more permanent Roman camp was established at nearby
Ilchester, and the
Fosse Way military road was constructed within of Ham Hill, on its way to
Axminster and the garrison at
Exeter. The area was very prosperous in the Roman period, and several major villas have been found nearby, including
Stoke-sub-Hamdon,
Odcombe, Lufton, and
West Coker.
Just to the east of the main plateau is the isolated St. Michael's Hill, the
pointed hill that gives its name to the village of
Montacute, and which was turned into a
motte-and-bailey castle by the
Normans.
South of the main hill are
strip lynchets, or low terraces created by ancient ploughing and cultivation, and the
deserted medieval village of Witcombe (or
Whitcombe), which was finally abandoned in the
17th century.
The northern end of the plateau is crowned by a
war memorial to the dead of the nearby village of
Stoke-sub-Hamdon killed during the two
World Wars. The memorial is clearly visible from the surrounding countryside, including the
A303 trunk road which now follows the course of the
Fosse Way near the base of the hill.
Just below the Monument is a bench dedicated to the memory of local student
Alan Kneebone, tragically murdered while at University in Wakefield in 2001.
Climbing
There is a limited amount of climbing available at Ham Hill with roughly 20 routes. These are top roped routes due to the nature of the rock, the difficulty of "toping out" and because the rock is or geological interest. There are also several
Bouldering problems.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ham Hill Somerset'.
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