Badbury, Wimborne
Has been described as a Rejected Timber Castle (Other/Unknown)
There are earthwork remains
| Name | Badbury, Wimborne |
| Alternative Names | Badbury Rings |
| Historic Country | Dorset |
| Modern Authority | Dorset |
| 1974 Authority | Dorset |
| Civil Parish | Shapwick |
Leland writes "Close to Wimborne the Saxon kings had a castle, now completely demolished, which is now called Badbury. The banks and ditches and site of the castle are still visible, but now rabbits burrow into it."
Badbury Rings a multivallate Iron Age hill-fort, is sited prominently on a chalk knoll rising to 327 ft. above O.D.; it commands wide views in all directions. Together with the adjacent settlement (ST 90 SE 37) it has been identified with Vindocladia of the Antonine Itinerary, and also with Mons Badonicus of Gildas. Its later history includes occupation by an army under Ethelwold, c. 899, and by the 'Clubmen' in 1645. The site has not been excavated, but the earthworks indicate at least two phases of construction. The interior of the hill-fort is domed and largely covered with trees. A prominent fir copse, Badbury Clump, within a low embanked circle on the summit of the knoll had already been planted when Colt Hoare visited the site c. 1820. There is evidence of shallow quarrying immediately inside the inner rampart, doubtless to provide additional material for the defences. (PastScape)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | ST964030 |
| Latitude | 50.826530456543 |
| Longitude | -2.05246996879578 |
| Eastings | 396400 |
| Northings | 103000 |
