Monument record 3687/1/1 - Possible medieval motte or post-medieval prospect mound within Cransley Wood

A flat topped circular mound, possibly a Medieval motte or later landscape feature. The motte is 16 feet above the surrounding ditch, with a flat top 45 feet in diameter. Slight earthworks of an oval enclosure visible on the eastern side of the mound on lidar imagery may be evidence of a bailey.

{1} Earthwork of a round mound c.40m diameter, with a flat top 16m diameter. The mound is 3.5m high. Its surrounding ditch is 1m deep, except on the west where there is a modern recut. A partially filled trench is visible across the top of the mound, but there is no record of an excavation here. The site is perhaps a motte, placed to overlook and protect the village to the south. However, it is possible that it is post-medieval in date and connected with landscaping. The present ditch is certainly too small and narrow for the ditch of a motte, but the existence of what may be part of an earlier ditch on the north-east is perhaps significant. There is no trace of a bailey or any stonework. The feature is likely to be either a motte or prospect mound, the latter closely associated with the landscaping in which it was certainly used. Earthwork plan Fig.32.

{2} "Tumulus" marked on OS 1inch map of 1835.

{3} The mound is not recorded on the parish map of 1598, but was possibly not deemed significant at this time.

{4} A motte 16 feet high above the surrounding ditch, with a flat top 45 feet in diameter, in a plantation a 1/4 mile NW of the church at Cransley. A diagonal section has been cut from the mound. There is no trace of a bailey or of stonework. Described as a tumulus on OS 1", 1835.

{9} A small motte utilised as a landscaped feature within Cransley Wood.

{10} Listed by Cathcart King.

{11} Slight earthworks of an oval enclosure adjoin the eastern side of the mound and may be evidence of a bailey. The enclosure is c60m long and 55m wide.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.29/Site 7 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP87NW12 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<3> Treswell R., 1598, Cransley Parish Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN103920.

<4> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.404 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100369.

<5> The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1853, Archaeologia (35), Plate 16 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN58177.

<6> Kenyon J.R., 2008, Castles, Town Defences and Artillery Fortifications in the United Kingdom and Ireland: A Bibliography 1945 - 2006, (unchecked) (Bibliography). SNN106309.

<7> HYLTON T.; MASTERS P., 1998, Empingham to Hannington Anglian Water Pipeline, Northamptonshire Section, Archaeological Evaluation: Stage 1, (unchecked) (Report). SNN63049.

<8> Richmond A., 2012, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment: Land at Cransley Hill, Broughton, Northamptonshire, 2012, p.28 (checked) (Report). SNN108550.

<9> Baird, J, 1969, Field Investigators Comments, F1 JB 14-OCT-69 (Note). SNN111452.

<10> Cathcart King, D J, 1983, Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands, p. 315 (Book). SNN112899.

<11> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, Accessed 17/09/2024 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

Record last edited

Sep 17 2024 9:26AM