Reasons for Designation
Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late
Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended
area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a
substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a
stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the
bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military
operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements.
They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60
with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted
range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular
significance to our understanding of the period.
Sheriff Hutton ringwork is well preserved and is a rare example of one with
an associated bailey. It is in a classic location for a ringwork, adjacent to
the church on an area of high ground overlooking the village. It has
commanding views across the Vale of York to the south and would thus have been
an effective symbol of the local Norman lord's authority. Sheriff Hutton
ringwork is notable for being rectangular rather than the more common circular
design and its importance is further heightened by the nearby location of the
later stone built castle.
Details
The monument includes the substantial remains of a ringwork, a Norman
earthwork castle, sited immediately to the south of the Church of St Helen and
Holy Cross. It also includes part of the associated bailey to the west,
together with earthworks relating to the later use of the area to the south
and east.
The date of the castle is not known for certain. There is documentary evidence
for a castle built at `Hoton' by Bertram de Bulman as a threat to Ripon
c.1140. This was attributed to Sheriff Hutton, which is 11km from
Ripon, but the reference is now thought to refer to Hutton Conyers, which is
only 1.2km distant. Most ringworks were built immediately after the
Norman Conquest or during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda
(1138-1153). The earthwork castle at Sheriff Hutton was replaced by the stone
built quadrangular castle, 500m to the west, begun by John Lord Neville of
Raby in 1382.
The castle has a small inner ward or courtyard about 20m square, surrounded by
substantial earthwork ramparts with a deep ditch beyond. The external face of
the ramparts forms a rectangle in plan, 50m east-west and 40m north-south. The
eastern rampart is broader than either the north or south sides and has a
slight terrace stepping down into the inner ward. The western side of the
rampart is cut through to provide the entrance to the ward, with a causeway
crossing the ditch at this point. The ramparts are at their highest either
side of this west entrance. The ditch is `U' shaped in both cross section and
plan, and extends around just the north, west and south sides of the ramparts.
There is no earthwork evidence of an infilled eastern ditch to complete the
circuit, nor that the ditch had an external bank. To the west of the inner
ward, across the causeway over the ditch, there is a level area bound to the
north and south by a break of slope to lower ground. This marks the area of
the outer bailey, the enclosure attached to the ringwork. The far west end of
the bailey has been lost under modern housing and the north side is
incorporated into a garden. To the east of the ringwork there is a toft and
croft, the earthwork remains of a house platform (toft) with an associated
small enclosure (the croft). To the south of the toft, running along the
southern side of the ringwork and bailey, there is a set of ridge and furrow
which is cut by the field boundary that forms the southern extent of the
monument, providing evidence of the medieval field system in the area.
All modern fencing, the churchyard wall and items of garden furniture are
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is
included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
