Ringwork and bailey at Coldred Court

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.

The example at Coldred, despite having been partially destroyed by quarrying, survives well and is visually a very impressive monument. Its historical association with Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, Earl of Kent and half- brother to William the Conqueror adds to its importance. The survival of the chapel associated with the ringwork, albeit with structural alterations, also adds to the importance of the monument of which it was an integral part.

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.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

12845

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
TR 24 NE,

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