Scheduled Monuments›England›Hamdon Hill camp

Hamdon Hill camp

England

List entry 1003678

Nation

England

The designation

Reference

List entry 1003678

Authority

Historic England (NHLE)

Status

Scheduled Monument

Scheduled area

123.53 hectares

Grid reference

ST 48296 16427

Boundary

Scheduled area

Overview

History & significance

Hamdon Hill Camp is a hillfort situated on the prominent sandstone ridge of Hamdon Hill near Stoke sub Hamdon in South Somerset. The site comprises a substantial univallate earthwork, protected by a single rampart and ditch system that encloses approximately 32 acres, and is interpreted as dating to the Iron Age period. The camp occupies a strategically commanding position overlooking the surrounding Somerset countryside and the Yeovil area, which would have provided significant defensive and territorial advantages to its Iron Age inhabitants. The monument remains a substantial earthwork feature despite later quarrying activity on the hill, and it represents an important example of Iron Age settlement and fortification in the South West of England.

Hamdon Hill camp is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003678. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Hamdon Hill camp?

Hamdon Hill Camp is a hillfort situated on the prominent sandstone ridge of Hamdon Hill near Stoke sub Hamdon in South Somerset. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1003678.

Who is responsible for protecting Hamdon Hill camp?

Hamdon Hill camp 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 1003678.

What other scheduled monuments are near Hamdon Hill camp?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Medieval secular college at Parsonage Farm (1.1 km), Montacute Castle: a motte and bailey castle on St Michael's Hill. (1.3 km), Site of a Cluniac priory immediately east of Abbey Farm (1.6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Hamdon Hill camp

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Hamdon Hill camp's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Domesday

The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

LiDAR

Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Medieval secular college at Parsonage Farm

1.1 km

Montacute Castle: a motte and bailey castle on St Michael's Hill.

1.3 km

Site of a Cluniac priory immediately east of Abbey Farm

1.6 km

Roman villa at Lufton

Later Iron Age enclosure, Ilchester Mead

6.6 km

Ilchester Roman town

7.1 km

The ground beneath

The bedrock under Hamdon Hill camp

Hamdon Hill camp stands on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Hamdon Hill camp

IlchesterRoman town · ~4.5 miles Cadbury CastleArchaeological site · ~10.7 miles Glastonbury AbbeyArchaeological site · ~13.7 miles DorchesterRoman town · ~20.8 miles Battle of Langport 1645Battle (1645) · ~7.2 miles Battle of Sedgemoor 1685Battle (1685) · ~14.4 miles Siege of Maiden CastleBattle (43) · ~21.1 miles

Domesday entry for Stoke, Somerset →

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