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Summary

A medieval ringwork, divided in two by a later roadway.

Full Description

The monument includes a ringwork castle and part of a later medieval droveway which ran through it. It is situated at the top of a steep slope, which falls southwards to the River Great Ouse, lying adjacent to Hill Farm and south of the St Neots Road. The ringwork, once known as Addingreves Castle, comprises an earthen bank 8m wide by up to 3m high enclosing a circular area 40m in diameter. The bank is breached by two entrances, one at the west and the other at the north east. Surrounding the ringwork is a ditch which is up to 24m wide. This has become infilled over the years and is now only about 1m deep at the south ans west and is totally infilled on the north and east. Its width is evidence that the original depth would have been much greater. The northern edge of the ditch lies beneath the carriageway of the road and is partially altered by a modern roadside drainage ditch which is about 2m wide and 2m deep. Despite this, the bottom of the ditch is thought to survive intact on this side. The southern arm of the ditch recently held standing water but is now dry.

The medieval droveway ran between Bedford and St Neots largely on the line of the modern road but, where the road is diverted to the north of the ringwork, traces of the trackway survive as later alterations to the earthwork. Opposite the western entrance a ramp or hollow-way 15m wide leads out of the ditch, extending for 30m beyaond its outer edge. There is a distinct camber to this ramp and also in the entrance to the ringwork which has been widened to accommodate the track. The track continued east, out of the second entrance, and followed the line of the modern road.
Adjacent to the monument are slight and poorly defined earthworks which indicate that the land was under cultivation in the medieval period. A number of burials were found on the site in the early 19th century while the monument was erroneously described as a Roman amphitheatre on early maps. The monument is now considered to be a Norman castle and although some scholars have suggested that the ringwork might have been built by the Danes in their defence of the Danelaw this has not been proven. After the castle's demise, the earthworks no doubt served as a shelter and watering place for livestock being driven between Bedford and St Neots on the trackway.

Bedford Archaeological Society, List, Dec 1972 (Unpublished document). SBD10794.

Bedford Museum, 6" OS Corr Sheet (Unpublished document). SBD10807.

Bedfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society, Reports Vol 39, 1886, pp 169-170 (Article in serial). SBD10755.

C C Taylor, C C Taylor, Feb 1978 (Verbal communication). SBD11535.

Cambridge AP index, OM89-91 (5/7/1954) TL 107 512 (Aerial Photograph). SBD10593.

HER Slide Archive, 2181-2184 (Slide). SBD10508.

HER Slide Archive, 5177 (Slide). SBD10508.

Luton Museum, Accession Register: 32/51 (Unpublished document). SBD10952.

OS: TL 15, TL 15 SW 13 (Unpublished document). SBD11100.

R Bell, Dec 1975 (Verbal communication). SBD11103.

English Heritage, SAM record form, No 17; No 20441 (Scheduling record). SBD10803.

1908, Victoria County History, Bedfordshire, Vol 1, pp 284-285 (Article in serial). SBD10574.

1908, Victoria County History, Bedfordshire, Vol 3, p 215 (Article in serial). SBD10574.

Wadmore, 1920, Earthworks of Bedfordshire, pp 253-257 (Bibliographic reference). SBD10706.

J Dyer, 1969, Discovering Regional Archaeology: Eastern England, p 8 (Bibliographic reference). SBD10905.

Fowler (ed), 1972, Archaeology and the Landscape, J F Dyer (Bibliographic reference). SBD11030.

Protected Status:

• Scheduled Monument 1009627: Howbury ringwork and medieval trackway
• SHINE: Howbury Ringwork

Monument Type(s):

• INHUMATION (Unknown date)
• CASTLE (11th Century to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
• MOAT (11th Century to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
• RINGWORK (11th Century to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
• DROVE ROAD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• FBD932 - HANDLE (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1539 AD?)

Associated Events: None recorded

Sources and Further Reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.