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Summary

There was an oral tradition that the tomb of Sir Bevis of Hampton was located on Bevois Hill/Bevois Mount. In the mid 18th century, during the building of a summer house on the site of a "barrow", part of a human skeleton was apparently found. In 1770, Speed reported a tradition that Roman coins had been found during ploughing on top of Bevois Hill; this tradition probably dates to the early 18th century, before the hill became part of the grounds of Bevois Mount House. Speed suggested that there may have been a Roman watch station there. There was also a tradition in the 18th century that the mound was a fortification, and an 18th century map indicates the hill with a castle symbol. In the 20th century the mound has been interpreted as an adulterine castle. By 1904 the hill had probably been largely destroyed by quarrying, so it is perhaps unlikely that these finds or interpretations can be confirmed. However there is the slight possibility that evidence survives at the northern end.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• HER backup file (new series): MSH257  
• National Monuments Record (ex OS Antiquity Record): SU 41 SW 36  
• Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4213 SE 2 A/B, 4 & 5  

Monument Type(s):

• BARROW? (Early Neolithic to Saxon - 4000 BC? to 1065 AD?)
• EARTHWORK (Early Neolithic to Medieval - 4000 BC? to 1539 AD?)
• INHUMATION (Early Neolithic to Saxon - 4000 BC? to 1065 AD?)
• FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• OBSERVATION POST? (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• ADULTERINE CASTLE? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)
• CASTLE? (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)

Full description

[3] (1658 map): Bevois Hill marked as "Sir Bevoys Hill".

[11] (1743) (in [12]): (Describing what is clearly Bevois Mount/Hill.) ". . . The bowling green is very pleasant. On the north side of it is planted a small vineyard . . .. On the south side is an artificial mount said to have been rais'd by Bevis . . .. This has been made regular, with winding walks leading to the top, on which is a pretty summer house . . .."

[8] (citing a 1753 source): An anonymous description by a visitor, dated 1753, calls it ". . . A waste large pile of earth, which rises in the form of a cone, from a large wide foundation of great extent and circumference, which they call Bevois Mount. It is supposed to be an ancient fortification, thrown up by the Saxons, under the command of Bevis . . . .". The description goes on to say that the estate owner had converted the Mount into a "kind of wilderness" and cut various walks and labyrinths, and goes on ". . . The Mount terminates above . . . In a kind of fork; and between the two spires is a bowling green, or parterre . . .. On one side of this parterre, declining gradually from the top of one of the spires to the green, is planted a little vineyard, exposed to the south; on the other side, on the very summit of the spire, stands a very fine summer house . . . With a good cellar under it . . .".

[4] (1770 map): Bevois Hill marked as "Padwell Hill", with a symbol similar to that used to indicate Southampton Castle.

[1] (1770), as reprinted in [2]: "Opposite to Bitterne on the west side across the River is a Hill call'd Bevois Hill, from a legendary Tradition that Bevois of Southampton lies buried under it; it is now part of the beautiful Gardens made by the late Earl of Peterborough, where the Summer House now stands was a Barrow, and in digging the foundations of the Summer House a human Skeleton, with Bones of a large Size, was found, but the compass of the foundation reaching no higher that the middle of the Thigh Bone, no search was made for the rest of the Skeleton. The top of this Hill was us'd to be plough'd, and I have heard that Roman Coins have been found there. The side of the Hill next the Shoar is very steep, and has a wet Ditch at the bottom of it. (Then supposes the hill to have been used as a scout watch for the fort at Bitterne. Apparently the river had once been fordable “over against Bittern towards Bevois Hill. See photocopy.)

[5]: This 1846 map shows the hill in some detail.

[13] (1883): "There had been a tradition of Roman coins having been found at Bevois Mount . . ". (Probably citing [1].)

[14] (1900): Roman coins have been found "on Bevois Hill".

[8] (1904): In the grounds of Bevois Mount House was "the Mount, the fabled tomb of the Saxon hero, Sir Bevis of Hamton . . . ".

[7] (in [6]) (1904): "Bevois Mount was on the top of a natural rock, consisting of sand and ironstained sandstone of the Bagshot geological age . . . The mount went first and then the rocklike mass below, as I saw it in its last stage. The sand was used to assist in the building of houses, and the stone in making the roads of new Southampton."

[9] (1942): Padwell Hill/Bevois Mount was a spur of high ground on the top of which was a large artificial mound. It has now completely vanished. Its age and purpose are unknown. (Cites [1].) It was probably a 12th century Castle Mound (referencing map [4]) of the adulterine kind. It would have commanded an important highway, where it passes between a steep hill and the estuary. Refers to the "wet ditch" mentioned in [1].

[10] (1955): Concludes that no certain classification of the mound can be suggested.

IP 13/5/03: Bevois Hill became part of the grounds of Bevois Mount house in the mid 18th century (c1735). The hill was largely destroyed by quarrying in the 19th century and the area is now covered by Clausentum Road, Verulam Road and Ancasta Road. All the above interpretations have been indexed, and a gis point placed at the centre of the hill - the sources are not clear as to the precise location of the barrow/tomb.

IP 7/11/07: GIS polygon drawn to include all of the hill as shown on the 1846 map (the point had previously been placed towards the southern end of this area). A Morton (pers comm) says that the hill was higher towards the north, shown on certain views of the area, and that the earthwork is more likely to have been at the higher northern end. (A clearer copy of the 1846 map is needed to determine this with greater certainty.) A comparison between the 1846 map, current OS mapping and the situation on the ground shows that the southern part of the hill has indeed been flattened completely by the late 19th century quarrying. The northern end has not been affected to the same extent, although it seems likely that the surface here has been reduced by somewhere very roughly in the region of 2m to 4m. A level survey would be useful to confirm this. (See very rough notes [17] in backup file.)

See [16] not yet incorporated, re possible evidence exposed during WWII bomb damage.

(See also engraving by TG Hart, c1850 on Portcities Southampton web site - image ref number 3716.)

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds

• FSH732 - COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Events: None recorded

Related records

Associated Links: None recorded

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