Ham Hill

Circle the mighty hillfort of Ham Hill and climb to the peak of Montacute Castle, through deep holloways and thick woodland. Follow ramparts on the tips of the slopes with views across river valleys and the Somerset Levels. Cross ancient Roman roads and medieval village remains to discover the Roman crossroads haunted by a highwayman. Skim a monastic deer park, to the ruins of the priory and climb up to the tower on St Michael’s Hill, the hump possibly riddled with tunnels. Return to the hillfort passing a Roman Amphitheatre, a millennium stone circle and a war memorial to weave back through the towering earthworks.

Distance: 4.5miles/7km (see bottom of page for route).

Time: 2-3 hours

Ability: Easy.

Max height: 410ft

Min height: 197ft

Total climb: 300ft

Terrain: Tracks, paths, fields and roads.

Start Point: Prince of Wales Car Park. (Postcode: TA14 6RL, Grid Reference: ST479168, What Three Words: rise.thrusters.basher).

Map: OS Explorer 129 Yeovil and Sherborne

How to get there: From Yeovil take the A358 north west, following the route of the Somerset and Dorset railway. Turn left to Montacute and then right at the T-Junction, heading through the village. Once in Stoke Sub Hamden, turn left to climb up to the peak of Ham Hill. Turn right into the large visitor’s car park which serves both the park and pub.

Dogs: On leads where livestock is present and in accordance with any notices on the walk and The Countryside Code.

Refreshments: The Prince of Wales is at the start and finish of the walk.

Toilets: In the Car park near the Prince of Wales Pub

Associated Walks:  Wardour, Ninesprings, Maiden Castle and Sandford Orcas.

Ham Hill is a ridge of sandy limestone that rises above the clay valleys of the River Parratt and River Yeo, which flow into the Somerset Levels. It rises to a height of 410ft. (125 m) above sea level and is prominent for miles around. The golden coloured stone is easily recognisable, full of fossils such as ammonites, and has been used in many local villages and fine country houses. However, due to the extensive quarry workings many elements of archaeological significance have been lost.

The name derives from the Old English ‘ham’ meaning settlement and was originally called Hamdon translating to ‘Hill among the Water Meadows’. Ancient activity dates as far back as the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods due to the presence of flints, stone implements and arrowheads. The use increased during the Bronze Age with the introduction of burial mounds and, in the Iron Age, ramparts were developed around its high plateau, creating possibly the largest hillfort in Europe.  The reason for doubt is down to its use. Occupied by the Durotriges tribe, it can be argued that at 210acres/85ha in size, it could have been too large to manage, defend or control in comparison to its smaller contemporaries. Instead, dominating the landscape, it may have been used as a monument, a place to carry out rituals or as a community hub. Two clear entrances are on the corners of its eastern side, one used by the current road from Odcombe and one from the village of East Stoke. Another could be on its western edge using the road from Little Norton. Excavations have unearthed bronze work, pottery, chariot parts, iron currency bars, gold and silver coins, cremations,  burials, hooks, sickles and even the skeleton of a dog, just like Maiden Castle!

In 45AD, the hillfort was ‘conquered’ by Vespasian having already quashed Maiden Castle. It became an important outpost for them, beginning life as a fort like at Hod Hill, and gaining control over the Levels below. The Romans appreciated the local stone too and started quarrying it for coffins amongst other things. This mini industry led to the development of a villa in the 2nd century, with artefacts such as tesserae flooring, roof tiles and coins being found.

After the Romans departure, little activity occurred but by the early medieval period it was home to the small settlement of Ameldon. Records show that Ameldon hosted an annual fair from 1102 to the 1600s and in the 13th century a rabbit warren was introduced. Another report claims that 1000 rabbits were stolen in 1339 and by the 1500s the warren was abandoned. Agriculture continued with the tracks up to hill sinking into the ground due to increased use, creating deep Holloways, but Ameldon began to fade. Little is left other than earthworks and the remains of an old chapel wall.

Its prominence was played with in the 1600s with the addition of a folly into a section of the internal rampart. It no longer exists but its stone embankment still stands at about a metre high. Quarrying continued into the Victorian period with 24 family run quarries employing over 200 men, but most had closed by 1910.

Today it is a multi-period, archaeologically rich landscape with a complex history, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The ham stone is still quarried but only in two areas, the North Quarry and South Norton Quarry. As a Country Park it provides a venue for a variety of leisure and recreational uses, including walking, horse riding and mountain biking but it is also a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Local Nature Reserve, supporting a range of flora and fauna. This conflict of use requires careful management as demand for facitiles also increases. In early 2025 a contract was signed for development to begin on a new visitor centre. The construction may affect the route at the end of the walk.

Starting at the car park for the Prince of Wales pub, which is the only pub placed within a hillfort (The Red Lion in Avebury being the only one in a stone circle), head towards the Visitors building and turn left to merge onto a footpath. Weave between the high ramparts, staying on the main path, then up to meet Ham Hill Road. Cross straight over and curve to the left, walking along the high defensive ridge on the hillforts western edge through the trees.

Down in the valley is Norton Sub Hamdon, its name meaning ‘North farm under Ham Hill’. The majority of the village is constructed from stone dug out of its neighbour and built around a manor house. It was once home to the former local MP and ex-leader of the Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown (1941-2018). He is buried in the village on the north side of St Mary’s church.

Bend around the south western corner of the ramparts, skimming the banks rising up to South Norton Quarry on the left. In the 1930s it was claimed that there was no good stone left but in 2010 the quarry was reopened. Today the family run business of Harvey Stone extracts its product from some 20–30 metres below the surface and have no issues in finding ‘good stone’.

Stick to the boundary of the quarry, still weaving between deep dips of the ramparts, staying on the higher path. Turn left at the T-junction, with the slopes steeply dropping down on the right to the earthworks of the Witcombe valley. Some of the remains are strip lynchets, signs of ancient farming techniques, but most are part of the lost medieval village of Witcombe (or Whitcombe). As a series of terraces and Holloways it sits on a route of a possible Roman road (marked as such on the 1887 OS map and subsequent maps up until 1962).

Head away from the ramparts onto the southern plateau and walk straight up to Park Lane. Turn right and walk along the small road out of the hillfort’s eastern entrance at Batemore Farm. Batemore Farm not only marks the entrance to the hillfort but also marks the crossroads with the debated Roman Road. A Roman coin hoard was discovered at the farm in 1816 with another larger hoard of 2000 coins found in 1882, which covered the whole period of Roman occupation. In the early 1900s a villa was excavated at Batemore unearthing an extensive mosaic. It was reburied but still at risk from agricultural activity. To the far west is the well-known Roman road of the Fosse Way, linking Lincoln to Exeter via Ilchester. Another road travelled south from Ilchester to Dorchester running directly through present day Yeovil (and their MacDonald’s!). This route could have connected the Fosse way in the north to High Wood in the south, but then it gets lost in the valley.

Batemore’s Villa was not alone either. Lufton villa sits to the east, north of Yeovil.  It was discovered in 1945 and excavations revealed a bathhouse, living rooms with hypocausts and a veranda onto a gravel yard. Nine mosaics were found, all in good condition, along with a collection of jewellery made from bronze and glass. Its layout has only been found in four other villas in the country. Chessels villa was discovered in 1861, once again to the east of Ham Hill but to the south of Yeovil. Finds included rings, brooches, and a figurine of the God Mars, pottery and coins. There were also signs that the villa had been burnt down, looted then rebuilt to a lesser standard. A third villa was discovered at Westlands which was excavated in 1925. Coloured plaster, hypocausts, mosaics and baths were all unearthed, within a building surrounding a courtyard, all indicating occupation throughout the Roman period. However, the villa appears so large it has been suggested to be a bigger complex or even a small town.

To the north of Batemore Farm the Roman road drops into Foister’s Gully. Prior to the introduction of the turnpike roads, this route was considered one of the main routes from London to the west. The steep climb made it difficult, but more of a concern to the weary passengers was that Ham Hill was where the highwayman, Richard Foister (Foster/Forster), roamed. He was notorious for his violence, aggressively attacking coaches as they passed, occasionally killing the occupants. He was eventually captured and hung from a gibbet cage on the crossroads of Park Lane and the Roman road, in full public view, until dead. His wails and screams could be heard for miles around and a lady from Witcombe felt so sorry for him she fed him candles. He became the last man in England to suffer this punishment as it was outlawed in 1834.

Continue down the road, past the farm and tip of Witcombe valley to Hollow Lane. Turn left onto the footpath running parallel with the sunken Holloway. On the left the tower of St Michael appears, peeking above the trees of its conical hill. The landscape here was once part of the medieval deer park of Montacute Priory, with the aptly named Park Lane possibly marking its south western boundary. Head through the gate and continue down the hill towards Montacute.

Montacute was originally called Logaresburgh by the Saxons, then Bishopston, and was owned by Tofig (d.1043) who was a member of the court to the Danish King Canute. After the Norman Conquest it was given by Count Robert of Mortain and half-brother of William the Conqueror, to Drogo de Montagu, the earliest English-resident ancestor of the prominent Anglo-Norman de Montagu family, who were later to become the Earls of Salisbury. The name Montacute either derives from the family or the Latin ‘Mons Acutus’ in reference to the conically acute St Michael’s Hill. Land was bought from the priory by Thomas Phelips in the 1400s, but Montacute House wasn’t built until about 1598 by his great grandson Sir Edward Phelips. Bishopston was the site of the Priory and Montacute slowly grew around it, encouraged by the 16th century manor house, using the handy Ham stone in its construction. It remained in the same family for nearly 400 years, until William Phelips (1823–89), went insane and gambled the family fortunes away. His son, also William Phelips (1846–1919), was forced to sell the family silver to cover debts but was eventually required to move out in 1911. It was put on the market in 1929 but struggled to sell as an empty shell. In 1931 it was bought by the National Trust, who themselves struggled with its management. It was requisitioned by the army during the Second World War and eventually put back into the care of the National Trust. Today it is a beacon of their portfolio, used in films and TV including the 1995 film of Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and the long running BBC series of ‘Wolf Hall’ (2024). Its Long galley, as the longest in England, serves as an outpost of the National Gallery displaying a range of historical portraits.

Drop down to a small road and turn left then left again onto a tree lined path, heading to the site of the old priory. The Clunic Priory was founded in 1102, by the Mortain family, but little remains today. A fishpond known as Priory Pond, which was used for breeding or storing fish, a dovecote and a series of earthworks are some of its remnants. Its actual location is unknown but evidence suggests it was an important monastic building. It was dissolved during the dissolution, but its former infirmary, now known as ‘Monk’s House’ still survives at the northern end of the village along with part of the gateway, which has been incorporated into the Abbey Farmhouse.

Pass between the 18th century cottages of Pond House, Round house and Cider House and the Priory Pond to the Abbey Farmhouse. Join a road and turn left to skim the front of the Abbey’s gateway. The house was built after the dissolution, most likely using much of the priory stone, as a modest farmhouse only to become a ruin 100 years later. The Phelips family renovated the building in 1782 into what stands today.

Head through a farm gate and up the Holloway to the base of St Michael’s Hill. Curve around its southern slope to a gate and merge onto another Holloway up a steep climb. When the path splits, turn right, then left, onto a wider path straight up to the peak.

At the time of the Norman invasion, St Michael’s Hill, known in Latin as ‘Mons Acutus’ meaning ‘Sharp Mountain’, had been given to the Abbots of Athelney by Tofig. William admired its defensive design and so forced the monks to surrender, giving them the manor at in Purse Caundle as an exchange. Once under Count Robert of Mortain’s ownership he proceeded to build a motte and bailey castle on its peak. This was a real insult to Tofig as he believed he had found a Holy Rood crucifix on the hill and therefore considered the site to be sacred. The castle was besieged by Saxons on a number of occasions until a mighty battle which resulted in many Saxons dead. They were buried in a mass grave to the west of the village in a sloping field now known as ‘Under Warren’. It is understood that a timber structure was built on the peak first and later replaced by stone. After the foundation and growth of the priory the castle was demolished and replaced with a small chapel, dedicated to St Michael. As the archangel and leader of the heavenly host, he (along with St Catherine) is often the saint chosen for hill top locations, examples being at Glastonbury and St Michael’s Mount as well as Abbotsbury and Milton Abbas. The chapel was destroyed during the dissolution and nothing of the castle or chapel remains today.

The folly tower, which does stand today, was built upon the foundations of the chapel in 1760 by Edward Philips V. It rises 49 feet (14.9 m) to a viewing platform which is reached by a 52 step spiral staircase. Rumours are rife about the presence of tunnels, which link the village and priory back to the castle dungeon. The stone steps do delve deeper than ground level but are soon blocked off, however, no tunnels have been found yet. Another tale is that a daughter of the Phelips family was locked inside after defying her father and attempting to marry against his wishes. The views stretch for miles, giving the Phelips a reason for its construction, not only to admire them but to communicate across them too. Local legend claims that it was one of three towers, the others at Newton Sumerville to the south east (built by the Swayne Harbins in 1741), and Chilton Cantelo to the north east, (built by the Goodford family). Their purpose was to notify each other that they were welcome to ‘gallop over for a convivial evening’. There is no trace of a tower at Chilton Cantelo and its location difficult to determine on the floodplains of the River Yeo, but the tower on Summerhouse Hill still stands, with extra wings and a little dishevelled.

St Michael’s Hill in the 1940s when it had fewer trees

Sketch and postcard c.1925

Drop back down the path and curve to the left, circling the motte on its bailey. Veer off the defensive earthworks to the right and drop down the hill into the valley. Walk through the gate and bear left to the far corner, crossing the route of the possible Roman road and main thoroughfare before the turnpikes. There are no remains of the road today apart from a slightly levelled route north and a field boundary to the south.

Turn right over a stile and into the trees. As you climb, the Old Warren dips down on the left, the possible site of the mass grave of Saxons, defeated by the Normans. Follow the path along the edge of Hedgecock Hill Wood, past its conical peak to the right, to return to the ramparts of Ham Hill. When the path splits, fork right to merge onto the hillfort’s earthworks. Pass crumbling walls wrapped in ivy and the odd rope swing as the slopes drop steeply down on the right. Continue following the defences in an anti-clockwise direction, the path constantly wrapped in gnarly trees, hiding any views. When the path splits again, on the hillfort’s corner, continue straight ahead down to a junction of tracks. Cross straight over, past the playground and after the second gate turn left climbing up into the northern ramparts.

Up on the left is the second of the two quarries known as North Quarry, which is the longest running Ham stone quarry in existence! Curve with the path to the left to break through the top rampart out onto the plateau. Turn right, keeping to the edge of the enclosure to the corner. In the internal section of this little corner is a circular earthwork suggested to be a possible Roman amphitheatre.

Walk along the hillforts northern edge to the war memorial with Stoke Sub Hamdon (place under the hill) down in the valley below. Erected in 1923 the war memorial is a stone obelisk standing at 6m high. It commemorates the 46 men from Stoke sub Hamdon who perished in the First World War with the additional 8 from the Second World War added later. Those who died in Northern Island were also added. From its position it commands uninterrupted views over the vast landscape of the Somerset Levers towards the Mendip Hills and Glastonbury Tor. Below the memorial is another, dedicated to Alan Kneebone. He was found outside a nightclub in 2001 killed aged 22, having been stabbed by his girlfriend’s jealous ex. On the inside of the hill sits the Ham stone Millennium Stone circle. Made up of 15 stones it was added in 2000, to commemorate the many men who worked on the hill.

Drop down the steps and straight up the other side, once again walking along the top of the ramparts. Weave with the earthworks and stay on the same path all the back to the Prince of Wales Pub, car parks and your vehicle.