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MARLBOROUGH

Merlin's Mount is in the grounds of Marlborough College, only a 100 yards off the A4, but partly concealed by the college chapel. It is freely accessible.

In the grounds of Marlborough College stands a rather bizarre conical mound of grassed earth with a spiralling path all the way round. It is known locally as 'Merlin's Mount' or 'Merlin's Grave' for here the great wizard is supposed to have been buried (or perhaps imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake). Perhaps he chose this spot as his last resting place because of its religious significance. The sarsen stones of the largest circle at Stonehenge, which Merlin is said to have built, came from the Marlborough Downs. Whatever the circumstance, this famous burial mound or barrow later gave it's name to the town which grew up around it: 'Merlin's Barrow' becoming 'Marlborough'.

The elaborate spiralling effect is part of a 17th century landscaping scheme. While, the mound is actually the mote of a Norman Castle built in about 1110. It became a popular Royal stop-over point for hunting in Savernake Forest well into the reign of King Henry III. Yet, as early as 1215,  a would-be Abbot of Cirencester  recorded that the town was named after 'Merlin's Tumulus'. It's possible, therefore, that the mote replaced an earlier mound, perhaps a Prehistoric religious spot like Silbury Hill. This is reinforced by the discovery of a number of Roman coins there. Marlborough - or Merleberge in 1086 - is indeed accepted as meaning "Maerla's Hill". But Maerla would be a shortened form of the name of a Saxon lord such as Maerheard, not a Celtic Druid. The form, Merlin, is first known from Geoffrey of Monmouth's writings of the 1130s. Before this the character was known by the Welsh name of Myrddin.