Malmesbury Cams Hill

In the civil parish of St Paul Malmesbury Without.
In the historic county of Wiltshire (Modern Authority of Wiltshire, 1974 county of Wiltshire).

The earthwork remains of a small ringwork on Cam's Hill. It survives as a circular enclosure bank surrounded by a substantial ditch, now visible on the south and east sides only. The enclosed central area has a diameter of only 20m and is raised slightly above the natural ground level. There is evidence of an entrance roughly midway along the south east quarter. Possibly built circa 1144 as one of three siege castles (qv) built to besiege Malmesbury. The location of the other two siege castles is not known. Behind a long bank, which has been suggested as a siege line but is probably flood defence/field boundary.

This site has been described as a;
Siege Work.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST94058577

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 212635

Books

Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p94
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p499
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p288

Journal Articles

Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol93 p108
King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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