The earthworks you walk through on Painswick Beacon are the remains of Kimsbury hillfort, built sometime between 400 and 100 BC. The name first appears in records from 1263-84 as Kynemaresburia — Old English for 'Cynemar's fortification' — suggesting the site was already recognised as an ancient strongpoint in the Saxon period. Covering roughly eight acres, Kimsbury is a rare example of a large multivallate hillfort, with only about 50 such sites recorded nationally. On the south side, three concentric banks enclose deep ditches, the innermost bank being the most imposing. To the north, the builders relied on the natural scarp of the Cotswold escarpment as defence enough. The fort did not fall silent after the Iron Age. Roman-era pottery, samian ware, amphorae and two coins — one Constantinian, the other earlier — have been excavated from the site, indicating continued occupation or use into at least the third century AD. During the English Civil War in 1643, Royalist forces occupied the beacon as an outpost during the siege of Gloucester. After the siege was lifted on 5 September, King Charles I himself retreated through Painswick, reportedly looking east from the hilltop and declaring 'This must be Paradise' — giving the valley and hamlet below a name they still carry. An £80,000 restoration project has since repaired erosion damage to the ancient ramparts caused by the feet of walkers and history-lovers.
“The fort did not fall silent after the Iron Age.”
