Monument record 600/2 - Medieval motte and bailey, north-west of Canons Ashby

Medieval motte and bailey situated in the grounds of Canons Ashby House which lies approximately 350 metres to the north west. The castle comprises an hexagonal mound, 50 metres in diameter and up to 3 metres high, which is known as Castle Hill. The top of the mound is surrounded by a shallow ditch about 15 metres wide. The mound stands within a roughly rectangular area bounded on the south, west and north by a broad depression up to 20 metres wide; on the east side of the road this boundary continues as a narrow ditch with an external bank. The castle was abandoned in the medieval period when part of the bailey was overlain by the expanding settlement of Canons Ashby. During the late 18th century part of the bailey and the motte were used as a garden feature to Canons Ashby House. The earthwork was surveyed in 1992 by RCHME field staff.

{1} Fieldname: Castle Hill. The mound is clearly shown in 1834, but is labelled as a"Barrow".

{2} It is unlikely that by the late C13th a manor house other than the priory existed in the village, but at an earlier date when only half or less of the manor belonged to the priory it is possible that a manor house of the de Leye family existed. The most likely site for this is the supposed castle earthwork at the north end of the settlement, although the possibility of a manor elsewhere in the village cannot be totally dismissed. Various reservations have been voiced about this earthwork, which may represent a motte and bailey castle modified during post medieval landscaping of the park. A post medieval original, as for example a prospect mound, is less likely in view of Bridges’ 1791 reference to the local tradition that it was a castle, for as he was writing in the 1720s one might expect some local knowledge of it’s origin as a garden feature. Also it should be noted that the main hollow way appears to avoid the mound, again perhaps indicating an early date.

{5} Previously interpreted as a possible barrow.

{6} Barrow. A quarter of a mile due north of the church; a late Bronze Age spearhead was found in it. [Possibly refers to the motte rather than another barrow.]

{7} The earthwork may represent a later landscaping feature modifying an earlier motte, as it is on an alignment with the north-west elevation of the house. A polygonal mound c.3m high, with an inner bank on the north-east side.

{8} ….near the Great Close within the park, it is supposed, was anciently a fortification. Canonballs have frequently been dug up here, and the place still retains the name of Castle Hill.

{9} The survey on top of the mound has revealed a series of high resistance anomalies located around its edge. These clearly relate to the structure and may be evidence for structural remains such as walls or a path. The earth resistance survey did not highlight any internal features although it should be noted that wooden structures would probably not provide a response to the resistance survey. There are several high resistance anomalies radiating out from the top of the mound and down the sides. They may be associated with construction. A number of anomalies were identified at the base of the mound: at the west end they may reflect structural remains. Two parallel low resistance linear anomalies may represent ditches or
robbed out walls although they correspond with a linear slope noted on the 1992 topographical survey.
[Scheduled as a possible medieval motte.]

{10} In December 1992, RCHME's Cambridge office carried out an analytical earthwork survey of the mound following a request from the National Trust.

A large, tree-covered mound approximately 50m in diameter and up to 3m high stands within the parkland of Canons Ashby House (SP 55 SE 18). The summit is uneven, pitted with tree holes but generally flat topped with a prominent raised area on the north east part of the summit. A shallow ditch circles the base.

The size of the mound is equivalent to that of the motte of an earthwork castle. The outworks of a bailey survive in the form of broad hollows on the north, south and south-east sides. The south-east ditch has been converted partially into a pond, although it still preserves the angle of the putative defences. The area of the bailey was later colonised by the crofts and fields of the medieval village and the defences were slighted by a rectangular enclosure of probable later medieval date. (see SP 55 SE 1)

The motte was probably adapted as a post-medieval garden feature occupying a prominent position, but off-centre, at the end of a former tree-lined avenue leading from the north-western front of Canons Ashby House. For further details, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plan at 1:2500 scale, held in archive.

{11} A flat-topped motte (wrongly identified by Pevsner as a barrow) stands in the deer park; it was doubtless the precursor of the manor house of the Copes who were granted the site in 1538.

{12} This site was formerly recorded under SP 55 SE/1.

{13} Scheduled listing.

{15} Evidence from the evaluation suggests that there was a tiled building on the mound in the later medieval period and/or post-medieval periods. There is damage from tree roots.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1834, First Edition Ordnance Survey 1 Inch Map Series (Sheet 52), (unchecked) (Map). SNN281.

<2> FOARD G.R., 1982, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Report, 1982, p.1 (checked) (Typescript Report). SNN45382.

<3> Beamish, H.J.H., 1987, Earthworks at Canons Ashby, (unchecked) (Typescript Report). SNN77339.

<4> National Trust, 1992, Archaeological Survey: Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Report). SNN47558.

<5> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, NCCAP:SP5750/001+012-15; (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<6> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 136 (Series). SNN1320.

<7> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 36/site 3 (Series). SNN77381.

<8> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p. 223 (Book). SNN77325.

<9> Hibbitt D.; Allen M., 2010, Archaeological Evaluation Report: Geophysical Surveys at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN107714.

<10> RCHME, 1992, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire: An archaeological survey by the RCHME, December 1992 (Report). SNN71599.

<11> Steane J., 1974, The Northamptonshire Landscape, p. 121 (Book). SNN5137.

<12> ORAL REPORT, Lee ES 22-JUL-91 RCHME Recording (Oral Report). SNN53287.

<13> Scheduled Monument Notification, English Heritage Schedule Entry 21/02/1997 (Note). SNN113001.

<14> Aerial Photograph, CUAP, BEN 25 (Photographs). SNN112974.

<15> Glover, G, 2014, Archaeological evaluation report: The Mound, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN113788.

<16> Historic England, Undated, Canons Ashby, Archival material held by Historic England (Archive). SNN115732.

Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 12:55PM