Monument record 5081/3/1 - Possible Enclosure, south-west of St John's Church.

Earthwork situated in a field to the south-west of St John's Church. Topographical survey carried out in advance of proposed development recorded only recent landscaping earthworks.

{1} Poss medieval earthwork of ringwork type; substantial bank & ditch on east side; natural slopes to west; adjacent Kingsthorpe church; 45m diameter; bank 6-8m wide; ditch 6m wide; <28/8/93>; oval enclosure 60 x 50m; bank 6m wide; small projection on north-west side may be contemporary; ownership details; <30/8/93>; sketch plan of site; <31/8/93>;

{2} Survey April 1994; identified broad curving hollow 20m wide & 0.4-0.6m deep; low rise 0.2-0.3m high & 5m wide flanking inner edge of hollow for 25m; further low bank projects partly across hollow; along west end of survey area is a steep drop down to marshy floodplain of nearby river; track crosses slope; north end still in use & raised to low embankment; to south appears to have been terraced into slope but is now abandoned; raised area adjacent to boundary comprises modern building debris of bricks & ceramic roof tile & ironstone blocks suggesting dumping or former presence of small building;

{3} Further interpretation: not conclusive; most features probably natural in origin; curving hollow seems only possible candidate for man-made feature; may be former stream bed; only evidently man-made features within survey area most likely result from recent landscaping or other disturbance;

{4} Earthwork. In the field S.W. of church of John the Baptist, Kingsthorpe, a low bank 5 to 6 m broad in an arc extending into rear garden of Church Cottage over 35 m with possible ditch on N. 10 to 20 m wide, up to 0.5 m deep, possibly defending oval promontory to S.

{7} T.C. Welsh interprets an oval earthwork situated in a field south west of the church, in the garden of Church Cottage as a possible medieval feature.

{8} A trial trench was excavated in 1994 to establish the nature of the earthworks. No archaeological finds, other than 19th and 20th century pottery, or features were identified.

<1> WELSH T.C., 1993, CORRESPONDENCE, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN1262.

<2> AUDOUY M., 1994, REPORT OF THE MEDIEVAL POTTERY RESEARCH GROUP SUB-COMMITTEE ON SCIENTIFIC AIDS, (unchecked) (Full Report). SNN1264.

<3> Audouy, M, 1994, Topographical Survey at Kingsthorpe, Northampton, April 1994 (revised May 1994), (unchecked) (Full Report). SNN1265.

<4> Welsh T.C., 1993-4, Northampton (Kingsthorpe), P189 (Note). SNN104215.

<6> Welsh T.C., 2002, Possible Earthwork Enclosure, Kingsthorpe, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN101493.

<7> Welsh T.C., 1998, The Invisible Site Finder, (part checked) (Document). SNN46596.

<8> TAYLOR C.C., 1994, Trial excavation at the White House, Kingsthorpe, Northampton (Full Report). SNN73770.

Record last edited

Jul 30 2025 3:08PM