Monument record 2631/0/1 - Western & Northern Section of Deer Park Pale (& Parish Boundary)

Earthworks of the western and northern sections of the medieval park boundary are still extant.

{2} The western and northern boundaries of the park are still traceable within the narrow strip of woodland known as Park Spinney. Here a large bank, some 5m wide and up to 1.5m high, is almost continuous; in places smaller, and presumably later, copse banks run parallel to it.

{3} Bank and ditch earthwork observed during Rockingham Forest Project rapid survey.

{4} The park is bounded by the Willow Brook on the south and a complete perambulation can be made, starting from Walcot Lodge at TL052937. A green lane goes north to Nassington. The park boundary is marked by a long, linear earthwork a mile long and 30ft across, with a ditch on either side enclosed in Park Spinney. This is also the parish boundary between Nassington and Fotheringhay. In several places fragments of limestone rubble appear in the boundary bank and at TL057947 there is an inner ditch only. At TL061951 the boundary mound runs eastwards and joins the Fotheringhay to Nassington road, whence it turns south.

{5} The park is bounded by the Willow Brook on the south and a complete perambulation can be made, starting from Walcot Lodge at TL052937. A green lane goes north to Nassington. The park boundary is marked by a long, linear earthwork a mile long and 30ft across, with a ditch on either side enclosed in Park Spinney. This is also the parish boundary between Nassington and Fotheringhay. In several places fragments of limestone rubble appear in the boundary bank and at TL057947 there is an inner ditch only. At TL061951 the boundary mound runs eastwards and joins the Fotheringhay to Nassington road, whence it turns south.

{6} The park is bounded by the Willow Brook on the south and a complete perambulation can be made, starting from Walcot Lodge at TL052937. A green lane goes north to Nassington. The park boundary is marked by a long, linear earthwork a mile long and 30ft across, with a ditch on either side, enclosed within Park Spinney. This is also the parish boundary between Fotheringhay and Nassington. In several places fragments of limestone rubble appear in the boundary bank and at TL057947 there is an inner ditch only. At TL061951 the boundary mound runs east and joins the Fotheringhay to Nassington road, whence it turns south.

{7} NCCAP:TL0694/001.

<1> 1716, Fotheringhay Map (NRO Map 467), (unchecked) (Map). SNN5866.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.46 Site 36 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<3> Hall D.N., 1960-1999, Rockingham Forest Project: Archaeological Sites Recorded by David Hall, Mapinfo Data Layer (checked) (Database). SNN102279.

<4> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1974, Archaeology In Northamptonshire 1973, p.105 (checked) (Article). SNN9109.

<5> STEANE J., 1974, Survey Report: Some Medieval Parks in Northamptonshire, p.25 (checked) (Newsletter). SNN37717.

<6> STEANE J.M., 1975, The Medieval Parks of Northamptonshire, p.224 (checked) (Article). SNN37713.

<7> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, (unchecked) (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

Record last edited

Dec 11 2024 3:28PM