| Wimble Toot | |
|---|---|
| Babcary, Somerset | |
 | |
  Wimble Toot | |
| Coordinates | 51°02′59″N2°37′45″W / 51.0497°N 2.6291°W Coordinates: 51°02′59″N2°37′45″W / 51.0497°N 2.6291°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference ST560280 |
| Type | tumulus or motte |
Wimble Toot is a burial mound or, possibly, a motte built near the village of Babcary, Somerset, England. It is a scheduled ancient monument with a list entry number of 1015279. [1]
Toot is derived from Old English tōt, meaning a lookout point. [2]
Wimble Toot is generally interpreted as a typical bowl barrow dating to the Bronze Age, [1] between 2600 and 700 BC. [3] Today the site forms a circular earthwork, 27.47 metres (90.1 ft) across and 2.74 metres (9.0 ft) high, with a ditch on the north-west and south-east sides, on the top of a ridge, overlooking a brook which runs into the River Cary and the old Roman road of the Fosse Way. [4] The site is of an undetermined age, and appears to have been a part of the Romano-British landscape. In Roman times, Wimble Toot was situated at a crossroads. [2]
An alternative interpretation is that the monument is a possible motte built between 1067 and 1069. [5] According to this view, Wimble Toot was probably built by the Norman lord Robert of Mortain to protect the River Cary and the nearby settlement of Ilchester. [6]
Today the site is a scheduled monument. [7]
Barbury Castle is a scheduled hillfort in Wiltshire, England. It is one of several such forts found along the ancient Ridgeway route. The site, which lies within the Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has been managed as a country park by Swindon Borough Council since 1971. It is situated on Barbury Hill, a local vantage point, which, under ideal weather conditions, commands a view across to the Cotswolds and the River Severn. It has two deep defensive ditches and ramparts. The Old Ridgeway runs close by and the modern Ridgeway crosses through the castle. In the surrounding area are to be found round barrows, Celtic field systems and 18th-19th century flint workings.
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West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. It merged with Taunton Deane to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 35,075 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in 2009, the population of West Somerset had the oldest average age in the United Kingdom at 52. The largest centres of population were the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet (4,400).
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