Monument record 156/1/1 - Medieval Windmill Mound

Probable mill mound of Medieval date. Earthworks of a low mound with an external ditch and possible central pit or post-hole have been recorded, along with finds of 12th-13th-century pottery.

{1} Ring ditch seen on aerial photos taken in summer 1966

{2} Low mound, c.2.5ft high, 40ft in diameter, being ploughed out. No pottery or record of a windmill. October 1964 and April 1967.

{3} A much ploughed over mound with a present max diameter of 21.4m and max height of 0.7m, the ditch (visible on aerial photos) not identifiable on the ground. Humus, probably from central posthole. Plan. The finds, topographical situation and present appearance suggest this to be a mill mound.

{4} A windmill mound lies in the south-east of the parish, against the boundary with Whitfield. It is a low mound 22m in diameter and 0.7m high and has been ploughed over. There is no trace of a ditch but one can be seen on air photographs. Some pottery of 12th-13th-century date has been found as well as an indication of a central pit or post-hole.

{5} Siltmark: no trace of ditch remains as earthwork but it can be seen in aerial photographs. Quoted grid ref is presumably incorrect. Aerial photos: NCCAP: SP5939/001-3.

{6} Letter re. finds reported to OAU by Estates bursar of Merton College, Oxford. Finds including one medieval sherd (Potterspury ware) from the windmill mound in Radstone parish. Hassall suspected that the mound was medieval, but suggests perhaps an earlier original use, possibly a barrow. Cites location near parish boundary in support of this.

{7} Remote sensing survey was undertaken as part of a suite of cultural heritage surveys ahead of HS2. The windmill mound was visible as a slight earthwork mound on lidar and as a light cropmark on aerial photographs, although the surrounding ditch was not visible on any of the sources.

<1> Brown A.E. (ed.), 1966, Bulletin of the Northamptonshire Federation of Archaeological Societies (Air Photography), 1/20 (checked) (Article). SNN40027.

<2> Smith, D., 1969, Fieldwork and Observation in South and Central Northamptonshire, 3/2 (checked) (Article). SNN8978.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP53NE20 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<4> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.126 site 4 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<5> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<6> HASSALL T.G., 1983, Merton College Farm, Finds From Mound, (checked) (Correspondence). SNN46803.

<7> High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2013, London-West Midlands Environmental Statement: Technical Appendices, CFA14, Newton Purcell to Brackley, Survey reports (CH-004-014) Cultural heritage, P. 11/Site N51 (Report). SNN111657.

<8> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, APs (RAF CPE/UK/1926 2219 & 2220 16/1/47 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<9> RCHME, 1996, RCHME Aerial Reconnaissance, 24-JUL-1996 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN113969.

<10> Aerial Photograph, NMR, SP 5940/12-13, 19 (Photographs). SNN112974.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 7:57PM