Wareham Town Defences

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Werham

In the civil parish of Wareham Town.
In the historic county of Dorset (Modern Authority of Dorset, 1974 county of Dorset).

Rectangular earth rampart of saxon burgh, was crowned by a stone wall which was removed and the rampart heightened after the Norman Conquest. Suprisingly the PastScape does not list the town banks as a monument and the only direct reference to the walls is "Werham - Anglo Saxon burh of Wareham, defences rebuilt during C10 and C11. Fortified from the beginning of Alfred's reign."

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
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 SY921870

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; 456707

• Web site links
  • http://www.theprioryhotel.co.uk/touristinfo/wwalls.html
    http://www.ogdoad.force9.co.uk/alfred/alfhidage.htm
• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p24, 56, 60, 177-8, 234, 258
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p30
    Hill, David and Rumble, Alexander R. (eds), 1996, The defence of Wessex: the Burghal Hidage and Anglo-Saxon fortifications p221
    Wilton, Phil,1995, Castles of Dorset (Wimborne)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p68
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p130
    Penn, K.J., 1980, Historic towns in Dorset (Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society monograph series No.1) p105-113
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p199-200
    RCHME, 1970, An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset. Vol2: south-east (HMSO) p322-24 plate 172
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p28
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p513-7 [reprint of 1875 article]
    Warne, 1872, Ancient Dorset (Bournemouth) p261-6 plate 247
• Journal Articles
  • Radford, C.A.R., 1970, 'The later pre-Conquest boroughs and their defences' Medieval Archaeology Vol14 p85-7
    RCHME, 1959, 'Wareham West Walls' Medieval Archaeology Vol3 p120-39
    Gee, 1954, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol76 p86
    Drew, 1930, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol52 p. lxxxvii-lxxxviii
    Clift, 1908, Journal British Archaeological Association [new ser] Vol14 p21-
    Clark, G.T., 1875, The Builder Vol33 p661-2
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/dorseteng.html#dorset7]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p137