Belsars Hill, Willingham

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Belassise; Alrehede

In the civil parish of Willingham . In the historic county of Cambridgeshire (Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

Suggested site for vanished castle 'Alrehede'. Large pear-shaped ringwork "was formerly Belassise which suggests a post Conquest origin". Taylor and other authorities appear to considered it to be Iron Age univallate lowland fort. But Renn postulates this as having post-Conquest origin on bases of francophone name. Certainly use by Normans must be possibility.
This earthwork is 1 mile due E of the church. It stands on low ground at a height of 18ft OD, on the edge of Hempsal's Fen. In form it is nearly circular, with a longer diameter of 880ft running NW and SE, and a shorter diameter of 750ft. A single bank and ditch surrounds the whole area, in varying stages of decay. The original state of the work is best seen on the N side, where the overall width of the bank and ditch is 80ft, the bank contributing 53ft and the ditch 27ft to this. The depth of the ditch is from 2ft to 3ft,and it tends to be wet round the whole of the circuit. In its original condition it would have been a formidable obstacle. The bank is 7ft high at the best, but its condition varies greatly from place to place. On the NW it has been thrown down into the ditch for the distance of 60ft in comparatively recent times, giving easy access from the surrounding field. It is worst preserved round the E side, where it appears to have been spread over the inclosed area, since the ditch shows no sign of any other filling than the natural silting and is almost permanently wet. No trace of a certain original entrance exists. On the NE, close to the hedge of the Mod driftway which crosses the Inclosure, a marked causeway 24ft wide interrupts the ditch, but it has no certain appearance of being contemporary with the rest of the work. The driftway runs from SW to NE, almost along a diameter, and running from the ground W of Rampton direct to the Isle of Ely by Aldreth Causeway. The present line of the way goes right over the bank and ditch, which latter forms a slough in winter. The OS map of 1836 shows it passing round the E side. The whole of the Inclosure has been under the plough, and strongly marked series of ridges and furrows run across it from NW to SE. These vestiges are crossed by the present line of the driftway. Nothing has been found at Belsar's Hill to give a clue to the age of the work. The driftway which runs by it has certainly been in use since Norman times as a principal line of approach to the Isle of Ely, and it may be of a much higher antiquity. (VCH 1948)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL42317029

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 372192; 372212
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01770 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Taylor, Alison, 1986, Castles of Cambridgeshire (Cambridge)
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Phillips, 1948, in Salzman, L.F. (ed), VCH Cambridge and the Isle of Ely Vol2 p45-6
• Journal Articles
  • Kenney, J. and Oswald, A., 1996, 'Belsar's Hill, Willingham, Cambridgeshire: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England' Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society Vol84 p5-14