Monument record 5227/1 - Castle Hill, possible Medieval Manor

Site believed to be the location of the medieval manor. The area is traditionally known as Castle Hill and is said to be the site of the manor house of the Fitz John family who are known to have held land in Moulton in the 13th century. Bridges writing in circa 1720, said that foundations of buildings had been dug up and that there were traces of a moat. The remains lie on a small, natural, almost circular knoll. On air photographs taken in 1946 most of the knoll was already under cultivation and only a wedge-shaped area of land remains intact. Within this, standing on the summit, was a V-shaped bank with its apex to the N, with a large depression or pit to the S and what appear to have been rectangular platforms below it. These have been totally destroyed by modern ploughing and only the depression, 25m-30m across and up to 2 m deep, survives. The surrounding area is very stoney and there are patches of dark earth. A few sherds of medieval pottery have been discovered there. Archaeological investigation, including geophysical survey and trial trench, did not find any evidence of this site.

{1} The area is traditionally known as Castle Hill and is said to be the site of the manor house of the Fitz John family who are known to have held land in Moulton in the C13th. Bridges writing in c1720 {3}, said that foundations of buildings had been dug up and that there were traces of a moat.

The remains lie on a small, natural, almost circular knoll. On air photographs taken in 1946 most of the knoll was already under cultivation and only a wedge-shaped area of land remains intact. Within this, standing on the summit, was a V-shaped bank with its apex to the N, with a large depression or pit to the S and what appear to have been rectangular platforms below it. These have been totally destroyed by modern ploughing and only the depression, 25m.-30m. Across and up to 2 m. deep, survives. The surrounding area is very stoney and there are patches of dark earth. A few sherds of medieval pottery have been discovered there.

{3} Foundations of buildings have been dug up and there are traces of a moat


[Other sources place the manor elsewhere: see pref ref 5226]

{4,5} No evidence of the site has been identified during the geophysical survey or the subsequent trial trench excavation.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.111-112 site 9 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Salzman L.F.(ed), 1937, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.88-90 (checked) (Series). SNN100371.

<3> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.419 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<4> Railton, M., 2013, Moulton Heights, Moulton, Northampton: Geophysical Survey Report (Report). SNN109451.

<5> Moore, B., 2014, Moulton Heights, Moulton, Northampton: Archaeological evaluation report, 2014 (Report). SNN111026.

<6> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, A/P (RAF VAP 3G/TUD/UK 118, 6224-5) (Photographs). SNN104890.

Record last edited

Feb 15 2023 10:03AM