increasing its size to . Three entrances served the fort, the southwestern with a long hornwork surrounding it. Hut platforms can be seen on the hillside. The site appears to have been abandoned around 300 BC possibly in favour of the nearby site of Hod Hill. Hambledon Hill is the first in a series of Iron Age earthworks, which continues with Hod Hill, Spetisbury Rings, Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings and Dudsbury Camp. The Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head forms a final Iron Age monument in this small chain of sites. Battle of Hambledon Hill The Clubmen were a third force in the English Civil War, aligned to neither crown nor parliament, but striving to protect their land from being despoiled by foraging troops of either side. They armed themselves with clubs and agricultural implements and gathered in large numbers to protect their fields, especially in Dorset. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of them encamped on Hambledon Hill in August 1645. There were large numbers of Cromwell's troops in the area at that time, after the siege of Sherborne Castle. Cromwell ordered that the Clubmen be dispersed and his well-equipped New Model Army soon drove them away on 4 August. The leaders were arrested but Cromwell sent most home saying they were 'poor silly creatures'. Protected status The hill is now a National Nature Reserve (NNR) with common plants including milkwort, salad burnet, horseshoe vetch, squinancywort, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme. Rarer species include bastard toadflax, meadow saxifrage, early gentian and dwarf sedge. Butterflies include dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalkhill blue and Adonis blue. In August 2014, Hambledon Hill fort was acquired by the National Trust for £450,000. The money to buy the hill had come from a Natural England grant and a legacy gift left to benefit Dorset countryside. The hillfort is a Scheduled Monument, as is the adjacent Neolithic causewayed camp. Cultural references Singer-songwriter Gordon Haskell wrote a song about Hambledon Hill for his album Hambledon Hill in 1990. References Further reading Roger Mercer, Frances Healy: Hambledon Hill, Dorset, England. Excavation and survey of a Neolithic monument complex and its surrounding landscape. Volume 1. English Heritage, 2008. . Roger Mercer: Hambledon Hill. A Neolithic Landscape. Edinburgh U.P., 1980. . External links https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hambledon-hill Hills of Dorset History of Dorset Hill forts in Dorset National nature reserves in England Causewayed enclosures National Trust properties in Dorset