Monument record 105 - Brigstock Great Park (aka The King's Park)

Large deer park of c 580ha first documented in the early 13th century and abandoned in the 17th century.

{1} Brigstock Great Park. The earliest reference to a park at Brigstock is 1227-31, when oaks were granted by the king to William d’Aubigny. There was evidently an extension made in the C14th when Edward III granted licence for Queen Philippa to make a park at Brigstock. William Brasier’s map of 1728 (NRO) shows the boundaries of the park. A walk around these shows in places considerable traces of earthworks. They include a long linear mound in Splash Meadow which runs parallel with the hedgeline marking the bounds of the park (east of Park Farm at SP936847). The next field was called “The Lawn” in the Brasier map and the next to the south was called Ald Dykes. Here is a well preserved linear mound and slight traces of an internal ditch. The road between Brigstock and Grafton seems to divide the Great Park from the Little Park. On the edge of Palk Gate Close and Saw Tree Coppice are massive banks. The boundary of The Great Park runs north from Old Mead Wood towards Geddington Chase and is marked by a long linear bank and internal ditch with a number of ancient oaks growing on the mound at SP912830.

{2} Repeats the text from reference {1} above.

{3} The earliest reference to a park at Brigstock is 1228 when oaks were granted by the king to William d’Aubigny and there seems to have been a close connection between the park and the royal hunting lodge at Brigstock. Oaks were given to Geoffrey de Langel to repair the king’s houses and the fishponds at Brigstock. Further timber was given to the Priory of Lenton and to John Lovel. In the C14th Edward III granted licence to his Queen Philippa to make a park with enclosure, dykes, deer leaps, lodges and trenches. This was the origin of The Queen’s or Little Park at Brigstock. It lay to the south of The King’s or Great Park.
Offences against the forest law are recorded as taking place within Brigstock Park, including hare poaching. The parks were apparently deep in Rockingham Forest for Edward III granted 60 acres of wood north of his park at Brigstock.
Herbage and pannage within the park was farmed out in the Middle Ages. William Brasier’s map of 1728 (NRO Map 3111) shows the boundaries of the park. A walk around these shows in places substantial traces of earthworks. They include a long linear mound in Splash Meadow which runs parallel with the hedgeline marking the bounds of the park (east of Park Farm at SP929847). The next field was called “The Lawn” on the Brasier map and the next to the south was called Ald Dykes. Here is a well preserved linear mound and slight traces of an internal ditch. The road between Brigstock and Grafton divides the Great Park from the Little Park. On the east edge of Park Gate Close and Saw Tree Coppice are massive banks. The south-east and south-west limits of the park run along the parish boundaries and border on two other medieval parks, Drayton and Grafton. The western boundary of The Great Park runs north from Old Mead Wood towards Geddington Chase and is marked by a long linear bank and internal ditch with a number of ancient oaks growing on the mound at SP912830.

{4} Fieldwalking survey of The Great Park. The Park is first mentioned in 1228. Disparking did not take place until 1610, and consequently the site has suffered only limited damage from medieval agriculture. Some fields still have standing earthworks. In view of the high survivor factor of the sites within the parks it was decided to conduct an exhaustive survey, looking at all aspects of the landscape from its prehistoric beginnings to the period of C17th disparking. Fieldwalking etc took place. The total site statistics in The Great Park are: 15 Iron Age sites; 23 Roman sites; 14 Saxon sites; 8 medieval sites (these are mainly park keepers' lodges). There was also one undated iron-smelting furnace (along with four more possible furnaces).

{6} Most of the interior has been ploughed out, but the boundary of the parkland is occasionally represented by earthworks of the park pale (banks and ditches).

{14} Catalogue of finds from the Brigstock Survey 1981-4 by Foster, Johnston and Bellamy.

{18} Two medieval deer parks occupy the greater portion of the south-west part of Brigstock parish, covering nearly 890 hectares. Little is known of their early history, but details of their final abandonment in the C17th are well recorded by Pettit. The larger park was known as The Great Park, it covered some 580 hectares and lay south-west of the village. The existence of ridge and furrow within the park indicates that much of the land has been previously ploughed. Some of it is probably medieval, although certainly some land was illegally put down to arable in 1643-4. The boundaries of the two parks are recorded on a number of maps and can be traced on the ground.

Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 186/Site 11 (Series). SNN77382.

<1> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1974, Archaeology In Northamptonshire 1973, p.103-4 (checked) (Article). SNN9109.

<2> STEANE J., 1974, Survey Report: Some Medieval Parks in Northamptonshire, p.24 (checked) (Newsletter). SNN37717.

<3> STEANE J.M., 1975, The Medieval Parks of Northamptonshire, p.217(Fig.2)+220 (checked) (Article). SNN37713.

<4> Bellamy B.; Foster P.; Johnston G., 1983, The Royal Deer Parks of Brigstock: an Archaeological Landscape Survey, p.15-18 (part checked) (Report). SNN43744.

<6> FOARD G., 2000, Extent And Enclosures of Brigstock Great Park, 1633, (unchecked) (Map). SNN102455.

<7> 1227-31, Calendar of Close Rolls (1227-31), p.15 (unchecked) (Document). SNN106562.

<8> 1247-51, Calendar of Close Rolls (1247-51), p.510+410+282 (unchecked) (Document). SNN3963.

<9> 1268-72, Calendar of Close Rolls (1268-72), p.310 (unchecked) (Document). SNN106563.

<10> 1347, Calendar of Patent Rolls (1347), p.74 (unchecked) (Document). SNN56524.

<11> 1348-50, Calendar of Close Rolls (1348-50), p.552 (unchecked) (Document). SNN3969.

<12> Brasier W., 1728, Brigstock Map (NRO Map 3111), (unchecked) (Map). SNN38437.

<13> The Selden Society, 1899, Select Pleas of The Forest, p.27-9 (unchecked) (Series). SNN106564.

<14> Northamptonshire Heritage, 2001, Brigstock Survey and Other Material: Finds Archive Catalogue, (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN106752.

<15> 1635, Map of Brigstock Park, (unchecked) (Map). SNN55603.

<16> 1734, Brigstock Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN38438.

<17> Pettit P.A.J., 1968, The Royal Forests of Northamptonshire: A Study in Their Economy 1558-1714, p.164-182 (unchecked) (Series). SNN42130.

<18> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.21-23/ Site 11 (Series). SNN77379.

<19> Foard G.; Hall D.;Britnell T., 2004, The Historic Landscape of Rockingham Forest, p.88 (unchecked) (Article). SNN109359.

<20> Unknown, Brigstock Deer Parks: The Medieval Period (Report). SNN70351.

<21> RCHME, Undated, RCHME Inventory: Northamptonshire I (North-East), 890528 (Archive). SNN113295.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2025 8:13PM