Ham Hill’s known history begins in 600BC, when it became a hill fort, developed by Iron Age people to enclose 200 acres within its ramparts.
The Romans arrived later, settled, stayed a while and left, leaving behind a selection of coins, pottery and tiles.
Meanwhile, the stone, a golden limestone, continued to be quarried and used for local buildings. Laid down in the Jurassic period, it consists of crushed shell fragments and contains fossils, including ammonites.
Now, Ham Hill Country Park rises above Somerset, surrounded by villages built of its warmly attractive stone.
A War Memorial was erected there in 1923, to commemorate the lives of 44 soldiers lost during the First World War.
A separate stone circle was built in the year 2000 to reflect the importance of the stone in the quarry over hundreds of years.
In the Ham Hill Murder Mysteries, the village of Lower Hembrow sits below Ham Hill. Adam Hennessy, a retired police officer, lives in The Plough, the village pub, while across the road is The Streamside Hotel, belonging to Imogen Bishop.
Harley, the brown stray dog, divides his time between the two.
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