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Plans to restore 'Merlin's Mound' delayed to 2027

Peter DavisonLocal Democracy Reporting Service
Marlborough College/Pete Davies Photography A drone shot of mound, showing the spiral pathway all the way round to the top. It is mostly covered in grass, but there is the odd tree and a small grotto area at the side. It is surrounded by school buildings, mostly red brick and several storeys high. Marlborough College/Pete Davies Photography
The 62ft (19m) mound is inside the grounds of Marlborough College

Demolition work at a neolithic monument where - according to myth - the bones of Merlin the magician are buried, has been delayed.

Works initially scheduled for April, then postponed to summer, have now been pushed back until 2027.

This week, Marlborough College, in whose grounds the monument resides, confirmed that other projects were being prioritised over the works to the mound.

"Whatever is in the mound has been there for several hundred years and is safely buried," a spokesperson for the school told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "It was felt that a delay would be best to ensure the work can be done optimally."

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According to legends, the wizard Merlin, magician and mentor to King Arthur, is buried in the mound, giving the town its motto - "ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini", or "where now lie the bones of the wise Merlin".

It was built around 2,400 BC, placing it in the same broad ritual landscape as Silbury Hill and Avebury.

In November 2025, Wiltshire Council granted the school permission to demolish the 20th Century buildings that are cut into the side of the nationally important man-made hill.

This will include the removal of a carpentry workshop, toilets, plant room and water meter and pump that were partially dug into the side of the mound.

Marlborough College/Marlborough Mound Trust A side view of the Marlborough Mound. It is a grassy hill with six rings cut into its side. It has a few trees on top and is surrounded by buildings - one of which is in clear view to its right.Marlborough College/Marlborough Mound Trust
A carpentry workshop, toilets, plant room, water meter and pump are now due to be demolished

The buildings will be "taken down slowly, with an archaeologist present", according to the Marlborough Mound Trust, which is working with the college on the project.

A 2024 archaeological assessment said that while it is unlikely anything archaeologically significant would be found under the buildings, removing them would enable archaeologists to investigate a cross-section of the mound.

According to the plans, there is "good potential to encounter traces of the medieval and post-medieval waterways" during the proposed works, which are set to leave a more "visually pleasing" setting for the monument.

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