Monument record 953/0/1 - Medieval Hollow Way (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation)

Probable hollow-way which may have originated in part as a bailey ditch. Earthwork: Non-destructive fieldwork

{2} The hollow way, reused as a road, may lie within a former castle ditch. It is now disused and overgrown.

{4} The north side of the hollow way was bordered on its north side by a drystone wall in post medieval times. It was not metalled with the exception of a thin layer of compacted soil and small stone fragments.

{5} Along the south side of the monument are the remains of a hollow-way which runs for the whole length of the site

{6} The stone footings of a potentially medieval wall survive at a depth of 500-600mm below modern ground level on the edge of the former hollow way.

{8} The south side of this bailey is now edged by a steep scarp up to 2m high which also forms the north side of a deep hollow way running along the south side of the whole site. A narrow ditch in the south east corner, joining this hollow way to the motte ditch, may be part of the original bailey ditch.

{9} Much of the hollow way in the site area has been infilled or obliterated by modern landscaping. It is well-preserved only at the south east side of the site. Slight traces can still be seen to the north west of the site but its course further north and west is unclear.
The trial trenching did not prove whether the area directly outside the castle earthworks is the ditch of the outer castle bailey or a later hollow way.

{11} Archaeological observation prior to development specifically targeted the former hollow-way with the excavation of a section across it. The feature was noted as surviving along the entire northern half of the site at the foot of the bailey bank of the castle and mostly untouched by the development. While the feature was in the right location to have originated as a defensive bailey ditch, it had been extensively used as a hollow-way. Widespread backfilling took place in the 19th and 20th centuries and there was no undisturbed medieval stratification.

<1> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<2> Foard, G, 1987, Long Buckby Castle, (checked) (Note). SNN14155.

<3> AUDOUY M., 1988, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN57399.

<4> AUDOUY M., 1988, Long Buckby 1988, Evaluation, (checked) (Unpublished Report). SNN57107.

<5> English Heritage, 1992, English Heritage Scheduling Notification, (checked) (Report). SNN47128.

<6> Webster, M., 1996, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN49264.

<7> Webster M., 1996, Long Buckby Castle, Northants SAM No. 13666, Archaeological Trial Excavation, (checked) (Report). SNN75651.

<8> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.134 site 8 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<9> Atkins R.; Soden I., 2002, Archaeological evaluation of land to the rear of 33 Grasscroft, Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, p.6, 11 (checked) (Report). SNN102095.

<10> Masters P., 1999, Archaeological Watching Brief at Long Buckby Ringwork and Bailey, Long Buckby, (checked) (Report). SNN103407.

<11> Soden, I, 2015, Archaeological investigation, observation and recording on land behind 33 Grasscroft, Harbidges Lane, Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, June 2015 (Report). SNN111937.

Record last edited

May 4 2020 12:16PM