Scheduled Monument: Castle Hill ringwork, Weedon Lois (1010252)

DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT Castle Hill ringwork at Weedon Lois lies in the centre of the village, adjacent to the village green and to the east of the parish church of St Peter and St Mary. The ringwork has a sub-rectangular bank approximately 3m to 4m high which surrounds a central area about 23m across. The interior of the mound is higher than the surrounding land and in places, particularly on the south of the site where there has been a little disturbance, the bank is level with the interior. There is a slight impression of a ditch up to 5m wide on the east and north east of the ringwork, within the area of the village green. On the west and south of the ringwork the line of the ditch is indicated by the modern sunken roadway. This ringwork is considered to have been constructed as a defensive earthwork by Ghilo of Picquigni, who was recorded at the time of Domesday as holding Weedon as the head manor of his estates. It is known too that he held part of the estate at Sulgrave with two other persons, one of whom owned land at Culworth. Ringworks are also preserved at both of these sites. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements. They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60 with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular significance to our understanding of the period. Castle Hill at Weedon Lois is one of seven surviving ringworks in Northamptonshire and its original history and ownership are well documented. In addition, it forms part of a distinctive cluster of ringworks with Culworth, Sulgrave and Canons Ashby, and as such, has considerable potential for retaining evidence concerning the relationship between this group of sites.

Record last edited

Dec 16 2024 1:05PM