Solsbury Hill
Little Solsbury Hill (more recently known as Solsbury Hill, because of the popularity of the Peter Gabriel song) is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort, above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to 625 feet (191 m) above the River Avon, which is just over 1 mile (2 km) to the south, and gives views of the city of Bath and the surrounding area. It is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
This article is about a place in England. For the Peter Gabriel song, see Solsbury Hill (song).Little Solsbury (Solsbury Hill)
Batheaston in Somerset, England
National Trust
Slight univallate hillfort 190m north west of Westleigh
8 October 1956
1002481
The hill is one of several possible locations of the Battle of Badon and shows the remains of a medieval field system. Part of the hill was quarried in the 19th century. In 1930, it was acquired by the National Trust. The hill was the inspiration of the Peter Gabriel song "Solsbury Hill", recorded in 1977. A small turf labyrinth was cut into the turf by protesters during the widening of the A46 in 1994.[1]
Etymology[edit]
It is sometimes misspelled as Salisbury, or Solisbury, perhaps because of confusion with Salisbury Plain (a plateau in southern England), or the city of Salisbury. Salisbury and Solsbury can be difficult to distinguish in speech; Salisbury is often pronounced "Saulsbury", and sometimes the "a" in "Salisbury" is pronounced as an "o", and the "i" is elided, making the pronunciations of the two words practically identical.[2] The name 'Solsbury' may be derived from the Celtic god Sulis, a deity worshipped at the thermal spring in nearby Bath.[3][4] A geological map by Horace B Woodward in the back of the 1888 Handbook of Bath labels the hill as 'Stilisbury Hill'.
Geology[edit]
The hill is formed in layers from a variety of sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age. In common with the Cotswold plateau to the north, the summit is formed from rocks ascribed to the Chalfield Oolite Formation. The oolite, together with the Fuller's Earth Formation which underlies it, forms a part of the Great Oolite Group of rocks of Bathonian age. Beneath these are, successively, Bajocian age limestones of the Inferior Oolite Group and sandstones of the Bridport Sand Formation. The last-named unit forms a part of the Lias Group of rocks of Toarcian age. Beneath all of these is the relatively thick Charmouth Mudstone Formation sequence rising from the edge of the valley floor alluvium. All faces of the hill are subject to large areas of landslip.[5]
The 625 feet (191 m) high hill is just over 1 mile (2 km) north of the River Avon.[6]
Later history[edit]
The hill is near the Fosse Way Roman Road as it descends Bannerdown hill into Batheaston on its way to Bath.[14][15][16] Solsbury Hill is a possible location of the Battle of Badon, fought between the Britons (under the legendary King Arthur) and the Saxons c. 496, mentioned by the chroniclers Gildas and Nennius.[17][18] The hilltop also shows the remains of a medieval or post medieval field system.[19][20][21]
The hill also has two disused quarries, one listed on the northwest side on a 1911 map, and another one listed between 1885 and 1900 as an old quarry on the west side.[22] It was acquired by the National Trust in 1930.[23] People protesting against the building of an A46 bypass road[24] cut a small turf maze into the hill,[25] during the construction of the bypass in the mid-1990s.[26] In one day of protests, 11 people, including George Monbiot, were hospitalised as a result of beatings by the security guards.[27]
In popular culture[edit]
Solsbury Hill (More accurately 'Little Solsbury') is the inspiration for an eponymous song, released in 1977 by rock musician Peter Gabriel as his first solo single.[35] A recording of the natural sounds on the hill forms the track "A Quiet Moment" on Gabriel's 2011 album New Blood, which precedes the orchestral version of his song.[36]
The Warlord Chronicles, a historical fiction trilogy of books, places the site of Mount Badon at Solsbury Hill.[37]