Travel Montacute Map

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Montacute tourist guide map of landmarks & destinations by Walkfo

Montacute history

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To the west of the village is the Iron Age hill fort of Ham Hill, a large tribal fort of the Durotriges. The fort was conquered by the Roman Legio II Augusta sometime around 45 AD. The Romans briefly occupied the fort, then moved to a more permanent garrison at nearby Ilchester (Lindinis), and constructed the Fosse Way Roman road a few miles west of the village. A Roman villa was excavated near Batemoor Barn early in the 20th century and an extensive mosaic documented. Never adequately protected, this has probably been damaged by deep ploughing in the last 20 years. Variously called Logaresburgh by the Saxons, later Bishopstone or Biscepstone, the estate was owned by Tofig, a staller (placeman or court office-holder) to Danish King Canute. Local tradition remembers Tofig as “Cnut’s standard bearer”. In 1030 (1035 in some records) following a series of dreams in which the Devil told him where to dig, a local blacksmith found buried on St Michael’s Hill a black flint crucifix or Holy Rood. (Some early versions state two black flint crosses were found, one large, one small. Another variant is that the second cross was wooden, and accompanied by a bell and a book/copy of the gospels.) Tofig loaded the life-sized cross (or crosses) onto a cart, and then named a series of possible destinations owned by him. The oxen pulling the wagon (six red and six white in one version of the tale) refused to move until he said Waltham in Essex, where Tofig already had a hunting lodge. They then started, and continued non-stop until they reached Waltham, and where they stopped Tofig decided to build an abbey at the site – this became Waltham Abbey. In the meantime, Tofig rebuilt the church at Waltham to house the cross, on which he bestowed his own sword, and his second wife Gytha (or Glitha), the daughter of Osgod Clapa, adorned the figure with a crown, bands of gold and precious stones. The cross became the object of pilgrimage, notably by Harold Godwinson. It was at Tofig’s wedding at Lambeth on 8 June 1042 that King Harthacnut suddenly died of a convulsion “while standing at his drink”. “Holy Cross” became the battle-cry of Harold’s armies at the battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings. The Holy Rood is said to have foretold Harold’s defeat at Hastings: on the way there from the Battle of Stamford Bridge he stopped off at Waltham Abbey to pray, and the legend is that the cross “bowed down” off the wall as he did so, taken as a portent of doom. There have been suggestions that the smaller cross became the “Holy Rood” which was carried to Scotland from Waltham Abbey by St Margaret. There has been further speculation that the site the relics were excavated from was the burial site of Joseph of Arimathea. On Tofig’s death in circa 1043, his estates passed to his son Athelstan (or Æthelstan) and then to his grandson Asgar. Following the invasion of 1066 it was held by Robert, Count of Mortain, who built the motte-and-bailey Montacute Castle at his English seat in 1068. The site of the castle was a deliberate affront to the defeated English, because it was the site where Tofig had discovered the “Holy Rood” crucifix. Robert later founded the Cluniac priory on an adjacent site. The parish of Montacute was part of the Tintinhull Hundred. Montacute Castle was besieged by English rebels from Somerset, Dorset and neighbouring areas in 1069 and its relief required the assembly of a considerable force, drawn chiefly from the Norman garrisons of London, Winchester and Salisbury. This army was led by the Norman bishop, Geoffrey of Coutances, whose large landholdings were also threatened. The rebels were taken by surprise and bloodily defeated, putting an end to the revolt. Joseph Bettey has suggested that “the devastation in the surrounding area which followed the English defeat may explain why so many manors in south Somerset are recorded in the Domesday Survey as having decreased in value”. The English dead were buried in a mass grave to the west of the village in a sloping field now known as “Under Warren”. Village tradition has it that two hilltop fortifications were built: first a wooden clamshell fort with motte & bailey, later replaced by a stone castle. However little evidence to prove the existence of the stone structure exists, except a note in the parish records that two loads of stone were taken from the site by the neighbouring parish of Martock. A church or chapel dedicated to St Michael later replaced the castle. Excavations of the hilltop have been limited and inconclusive. A folly tower, built in 1760 by Edward Phelips V now occupies the hill-top. Known as St Michael’s Tower it stands on Mons Acutus which was the site of the former castle. The Hamstone tower is about 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter, and rises 49 feet (14.9 m) before curving inwards to a viewing platform which is reached via a 52 step spiral staircase. It has been designated as a Grade II listed building and scheduled monument. Local tradition has it that a tunnel runs between the tower and Montacute House. This has never been found, and the tradition of its existence may be due to folk memories of the old castle keep. Considerable earthworks are built into St Michael’s Hill, and the common belief is that these are the remains of an extensive motte & bailey, however a report by the Somerset County Archeologist unit suggests that these are in fact wine-growing terraces. Montacute is visited by tourists who come to the area, attracted by the nearby Ham Hill Country Park, and Montacute House (now owned by the National Trust) which is one of the finest examples of an Elizabethan house in England, and several other mansions open to the public in the immediate vicinity. In 2009 Montacute was identified as having England’s longest life expectancy in a report compiled by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. In November 2014 Montacute featured in the programme ‘Hidden Villages’ presented by Penelope Keith.

  

Montacute map & travel guide with history & landmarks to explore

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Tourist Guide to Montacute Map

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Walkfo Montacute travel map key: visit National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top travel destinations in Montacute