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 the earthworks and interior area of an early Norman
ringwork, along with its bailey or outer ward. To the north-west of the
modern road that bisects the remains is the ringwork itself, defined on two-
thirds of its boundary by massive earthworks comprising a bank up to 2.5m in
height and a ditch on the outside as much as 2m deep. On this side of the
road a number of farm buildings, some medieval in date, have been
constructed over the position of the former earthworks. In this area would
have stood the main residential buildings, along with a chapel which has
continued in use as the parish church.
On the south-east side of the road is the bailey area in which ancillary
buildings such as stables, workshops and soldiers' accommodation would have
been sited. Here the bank attains maximum dimensions of 14m in width and
over 3m in height while the ditch reaches a maximum depth of nearly 4m.
Towards the road on the north-east side, the ditch has been partially
infilled by soil from the bank, but here a low outer bank is also visible.
In 1086 the manor of Coldred was in the hands of the powerful Odo, Bishop of
Bayeux and Earl of Kent, but he was dispossessed of it soon afterwards
having been disgraced for raising an unauthorised army for a foreign
expedition.
Within the protected area are two excluded areas, one a chalk quarry, as
defined by the quarry fences, and the other the church of St Pancras and
churchyard as defined by the churchyard fence.
Within the rest of the area all of the modern buildings and their service
trenches, the fences and the surface of the road are excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12845
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
