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 earthwork and buried remains of Benefield Castle, a
medieval ringwork castle believed to have been constructed in the mid-12th
century. It is recorded in documentary sources of the 13th century but went
out of use before 1315. In the early 18th century a stone wall remained
standing but there are now no architectural features surviving above ground.
The remains of the castle are located on the end of a natural spur which
projects north eastward towards the western edge of the present village of
Lower Benefield. They include a rectangular platform with rounded corners,
measuring approximately 60m by 50m and raised up to 2m above the surrounding
land. The interior of the platform, which is now largely level, includes
slight earthworks which are considered to indicate the survival of the buried
remains of the castle's defensive, domestic and agricultural buildings. The
platform is surrounded on three sides by a broad ditch, over 10m wide and up
to 2.5m deep, representing the remains of a moat; on the west and north it is
still water-filled while on the south, where it has been partly infilled, it
is visible as an earthwork depression. Outside the ditch are the remains of
an earthen bank; on the south and west it survives as a substantial feature up
to 1m in height and on the north, where it has been altered by later activity,
it is visible as a low earthwork. The area to the east of the central
platform, now largely level, includes the infilled remains of the eastern arm
of the castle moat, and in the south eastern part of the monument is a raised
trackway. Mapped representations of the site in the early 19th century
indicate that the entrance to the castle was formerly from the east in the
direction of St Mary's Church and Manor Farm. The castle is thought to have
originated as a defended manor which was superseded in the late medieval
period by a manor house adjacent to the north east.
All modern fences, gates, bridges and garden buildings are excluded from the
scheduling although the ground beneath these features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
17130
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
