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Belsar's Hill ringwork is a small fortified enclosure located in Cambridgeshire, England. The site consists of a circular or oval earthwork surrounded by a bank and ditch, characteristic of ringwork fortifications that were constructed during the medieval period, particularly from the 11th to 13th centuries. Such ringworks typically served as defended manorial centres or minor strongholds for local lords, though Belsar's Hill remains modest in scale compared to motte-and-bailey castles. The earthwork survives as an archaeological monument and provides evidence of medieval settlement and land organisation in the East Anglian landscape.
Belsar's Hill ringwork is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1010368. View the official record →
Belsar's Hill ringwork is a small fortified enclosure located in Cambridgeshire, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1010368.
Belsar's Hill ringwork is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1010368.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Giant's Hill: a motte castle with part of an earlier medieval settlement and associated field system (2.3 km), Cottenham moated site (3.4 km), Romano-British settlement on Bullocks Haste Common (4.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Belsar's Hill ringwork's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Belsar's Hill ringwork stands on West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation And Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Kimmeridgian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.