Reasons for Designation
English Civil War fieldworks are earthworks which were raised during military
operations between 1642 and 1645 to provide temporary protection for infantry
or to act as gun emplacements. The earthworks, which may have been reinforced
with revetting and palisades, consisted of banks and ditches and varied in
complexity from simple breastworks to complex systems of banks and inter-
connected trenches. They can be recognised today as surviving earthworks or as
crop- or soil-marks on aerial photographs. The circumstances and cost of their
construction may be referred to in contemorary historical documents.
Fieldworks are recorded widely throughout England with concentrations in the
main areas of campaigning. Those with a defensive function were often sited to
protect settlements or their approaches. Those with an offensive function were
designed to dominate defensive positions and to contain the besieged areas.
There are some 150 surviving examples of fieldworks recorded nationally. All
examples which survive well and/or represent particular forms of construction
are identified as nationally important.
Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are
funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation
or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple
mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch.
The burials were frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments, and
pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell
barrows are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which
are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for
chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over
most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into
their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round
barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of
national importance.
Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their
considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of
their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.
The fieldworks in the south-western corner of Cornbury Park survive well
despite having been partially levelled by cultivation on the northern side.
They are a fine example of fieldworks constructed to take advantage both of
the terrain and existing earthworks in the form of two round barrows. Both the
barrows and the fieldworks will contain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to their construction and the landscape in which they were
built. In addition, they form part of a defensive system which can be clearly
traced on maps and which provides important evidence of the military
requirements of those who ordered their construction.
Details
The monument includes two Bronze Age round barrows contained within a complex
of English Civil War fieldworks, 180m north-west of Park Farm in Cornbury
Park. The site occupies a south-facing slope which overlooks the valley of the
River Evenlode and the approaches by road to the house and park.
To the east of the modern private road, and on the eastern side of the
monument, is a well-preserved Bronze Age bell barrow. The barrow mound
measures 12.1m in diameter and 1.6m high and is surrounded by a gently sloping
berm c.5.75m wide. Beyond the berm is a quarry ditch from which material was
obtained during the construction of the barrow. This ditch has become largely
infilled over the years but survives as a shallow feature 5.8m wide and
varying from 0.2m to 0.4m in depth. The summit of this barrow is unusually
flat and it is likely that it was levelled to provide a gun platform or
observation post during later Civil War activity on the site.
Some 60m west of the bell barrow stands a tree covered mound 28m in diameter
and 0.7m high. This Bronze Age bowl barrow has been partially disturbed as is
indicated by a spread of material to the south-east of the mound and a slight
depression on its southern side. The surrounding quarry ditch has been
infilled by later activity and is no longer visible at ground level. It will
however survive as a buried feature c.3m wide. The disturbance to this barrow
is also probably due to alterations as part of Civil War construction work.
Situated south-west of the track and enclosing the western barrow is a
complex of English Civil War fieldworks represented by a series of earthwork
banks and ditches, which are best preserved above ground to the south-west and
south-east. Here they include an inner bank 6m wide and 0.6m higher than the
interior, and a partially infilled ditch 7.2m wide and 0.3m deep. Beyond this
is a 3.2m wide bank which stands 0.2m high, a further ditch 3.4m wide and 0.2m
deep, and a counterscarp bank 4.6m wide and 0.3m high. The northern and north-
eastern sides of this fieldwork have been partially levelled by later
cultivation but are visible as shallow features. The area enclosed by these
earthworks forms a flat lozenge-shaped platform c.87m across, with its acute
angles to the east and west.
Extensions to the defences include a length of ditch which runs south-east
from the south-west corner of the site to the break of slope north of the
lake. The function of this ditch appears to have been to prevent enemy cavalry
breaking through from either the east or west. Also, to the north of the bell
barrow, a section of ditch runs ENE from a terminus at its western end. This
ditch is c.4m wide and runs up to the edge of the modern boundary fence beyond
which it is not visible above ground level. The entrance created by the gap
between this ditch and the northern side of the main earthwork, to the west,
would have allowed the old road to run through the defences. There is evidence
of the line of the old road in the form of slight banks and an avenue of trees
which survive in the park to the north. The surface of the modern road, which
runs north-west from the monument towards the house, probably lies on the
older carriageway where it runs through the monument.
The location of the defences to the east of the road are no longer visible but
they probably ran within the narrow strip of land now occupied by coniferous
woodland. There is no evidence of ditches to the east of this line on aerial
photographs and any ditches further east would have interrupted the line of
sight of the supporting battery to the north.
Historically, Cornbury House is known to have been owned by the Royalist Henry
Danvers, Earl of Danby who was a determined supporter of the king despite the
strong Parliamentarian allegiance of his brother Sir John Danby. Although the
history of the period is unclear until the estate was occupied for Parliament
by Fairfax in October 1646, it appears that a Royalist garrison was present in
the park and the defences would have formed an important strong point between
two communication routes from Oxford which were used by the king in 1644
and 1645. Cornbury would have provided an outer defence to the north
of Oxford along with Woodstock Manor House and Bletchingdon Manor.
Excluded from the scheduling is the surface of the road which links Cornbury
House to Park Farm; also excluded is the fence which forms the eastern
boundary of the protected area, but the land beneath both the road and the
fence is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21782
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
