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 medieval ringwork, prominently sited at the end of a
low spur projecting into the flood plain on the east bank of The Black Bourn
river, to the south of the village of Little Fakenham. It lies about 15m from
a ford across the river.
The ringwork, which has an overall diameter of approximately 110m, is visible
as a pennanular earthwork enclosure incorporating an inner bank, a ditch and a
slight counterscarp bank. On the north west side a causeway, 5m wide, which
crosses the ditch, marks the original entrance. The inner bank, ditch and
counterscarp bank are most clearly defined on the southern side of the
enclosure. Here the bank stands to a height of approximately 1.4m above the
level of the ground surface in the interior and measures about 9m wide at the
base. A section of the bank, approximately 30m in length, has been flattened
on the western side of the earthwork, immediately to the south west of the
entrance. The ditch measures about 13m wide and up to 2m below the
counterscarp bank. The counterscarp bank measures approximately 0.4m in height
and 1.4m wide. The surface of the interior of the enclosure is lower than the
level of the ground outside the earthwork.
No excavations of the ringwork are known to have taken place, however, its
similarity to Red Castle in Thetford suggests a Norman date. Fakenham was
centre of the Suffolk estates of the de Valognes family, who were descended
from Peter de Valognes, sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1086. The
ringwork may have been built by the de Valognes family to defend their estate
either in the years following the Norman Conquest or in the Anarchy, 1134-
1154.
The fence surrounding the ringwork is excluded from the scheduling, although
the ground beneath it is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31086
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
