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.
Details
The monument includes a ringwork and associated earthworks situated on top of
the lower end of a gently sloping spur below Roddenbury Hill.
The ringwork is roughly circular, with an internal area of 0.11ha. enclosed
by univallate earthworks. The defences are greatest around the upper and lower
parts of the site, relying more on the natural slopes at the sides, and
consist of a bank 0.3m-1.2m high internally, an external ditch 0.2m-1.6m
deep (the ramparts overall being 1.6m-2.6m high) and a slight counterscarp
0.2m-0.3m high. Both inner bank and counterscarp have flattened tops.
The interior of the ringwork slopes down to the north west and is naturally
higher than the surrounding land except on the south east. The entrance to the
interior is on the north west, from downhill, and consists of a slight
causeway across the ditch and a simple gap in the inner bank. A circular
hollow 0.4m deep inside the entrance with an associated spoil mound may be
the site of a well.
Outside the ringwork and adjoining it or abutting it is a system of field
banks, scarps and ditches 0.1m-0.4m high/deep. The scarping indicates that
the small fields formed by these were regularly ploughed at some time, perhaps
in the Middle Ages. On the north they incorporate what is possibly an
unfinished bailey.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24021
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
