Ham Hill, Somerset

Infobox Mountain
Name = Ham Hill
Photo = Stoke_under_ham_hill.jpg
Caption = Ham Hill summit and war memorial seen from Stoke-sub-Hamdon
Elevation = "c." 125 m ("c." 410 ft)
Location = Somerset, England
Range =
Prominence = < 5 m
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 183
Type =
First ascent =
Easiest route =
Grid_ref_UK = ST479172
Listing =
Translation =
Language =
Pronunciation =

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 is 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. [cite web | title=Ham Hill | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000144.pdf | accessdate=2006-07-17]

History

Ham Hill is the site of a very large Bronze Age and Iron Age hill fort of the Durotriges tribe. The convert|3|mi|km|0 ramparts enclose an area of convert|210|acre|ha|0|lk=on. 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 is 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 convert|1|mi|km|0 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.

References

Further reading

* South Somerset Museum, [http://www.southsomersetmuseums.org.uk/heritage/hamhill.htm Ham Hill]
* South Somerset Museum, [http://www.southsomersetmuseums.org.uk/heritage/montacute-witombe.htm Witcombe Deserted Village]
* Roman Britain, [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/ham_hill.htm Iron-Age Hillfort & Roman Fort Ham Hill]
* English Nature, [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000144.pdf SSSI Citation]
* Somerset Historic Environment Record, [http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=55103 Ham Hill Hillfort, S of Stoke sub Hamdon]