Monument record 430/0/1 - Medieval/Post Medieval Woodland Boundary

{1} Remains of the park pale survive round almost the whole circuit of the park and are amongst the best preserved in the county. Along the lower north side of the wood (SP559583 to SP569586) the pale is an almost continuous bank 6-7m wide and up to 1.75m high above the interior of the wood, but only 0.25m above the higher land of the surrounding fields. It turns south along the eastern edge of the wood where it also marks the parish boundary with Newnham. At the south-east corner of the wood (SP572581) the pale, following the Badby-Fawsley parish boundary, leaves the wood and runs down the slope into Fawsley Park where its bank is very low and indistinct but can just be traced to a point north of the Dower House (SP570578). It then swings north-west and becomes larger until (at SP563578), it is 7m wide and 1.5m high. For some 200m beyond that the bank has been almost completely destroyed by ploughing which here runs to the edge of the wood. Just west of an old sand pit the bank reappears and runs diagonally across a massive natural scarp 4m high which is formed of the junction between Northampton Sand to the south and Lias Clay to the north. Here the pale is 7m wide x 2m high. It reaches the bottom of the natural scarp and turning north-west, runs along its foot. A little further on (at SP55955801) it blocks a hollow way which clearly pre-dates the pale, although here the latter is reduced to a low scarp. Beyond the pale continues around the edge of the wood, still below the natural scarp, which increases to a maximum height of 6m. The pale here is about 8m wide x 1m high and continues in this form until it reaches the north-east (?west) corner of the wood. (Plan: Fig.21)

{2} The rampart is intact over most of the circuit.

{3} Plan showing earthworks in the area of Badby Wood, including the deer park pale.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.11-12 Site 6 (unchecked) (Series). SNN77381.

<2> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.20 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<3> Brown A.E.; Key T.R.; Orr C., 1977, Some Anglo-Saxon Estates and Their Boundaries in South-West Northamptonshire, p.158 (Fig 2)(part checked) (Article). SNN43441.

Record last edited

Oct 16 2012 3:06PM