Motte & bailey castle, with oval stepped motte set within large triangular bailey with fishponds
The site consists of a motte and bailey castle and three ponds, situated to the south east of Thurleigh parish church. The motte lies at the north of the bailey, adjacent to the churchyard, and comprises an oval earthen mound 60m long by 40m wide at its base and 40m by 20m at the top. The top is divided into two levels, being higher at its north eastern end, which is thought to have held the stronghold. At its highest point the motte is 7m above the base of the surrounding ditch; the ditch varies in width from 7m to 30m and is up to 2.5m deep at the north, but shallower at the south. On the outer edge of the ditch at the north west are the remains of a bank 5m wide and up to 1m high. To the south of the motte is the bailey, which is irregular in shape and measures 270m by 200m. The northern perimeter is thought to have been damaged by properties fronting on to the High Street, and the remainder has been altered by its incorporation into field boundaries, but the location and form of the defences were recorded in 1904 (VCH). Part of the ditch now remains as a field drain which carries the Ravensden Brook. Two large ponds, thought to have been created by enlarging an original inner ditch, lie within the outer ditch or stream bed.Three ponds shown on the 1904 survey have been filled in but a fourth survives. In 1904 the earthworks continued into the grounds of the Old Vicarage but this was built over in the late 1970s; excavations in advance of development showed that little of the castle remained in this area but there was evidence of Iron Age, Roman and Saxon activity. There are reports of inhumation burials found beneath the mound, probably of Saxon date.
The site is thought to be the easternmost of a line of defensive sites, extending to Odell, possibly built by King Stephen (1135-1154).
The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No 20443)
| --- | SBD10508 - Slide: HER Slide Archive. 4787 |
| --- | SBD10509 - Unpublished document: A Simco. A Simco. Notes from site visits, 14/2/1978 & 30/6/1987 |
| --- | SBD10536 - Aerial Photograph: 1945-1955. RAF Aerial Photos. E 27-30 |
| --- | SBD10543 - Bibliographic reference: Bedfordshire Magazine. Vol 8, pp 347-348; 9, p 162 |
| --- | SBD10551 - Unpublished document: Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service Documents. BLARS: C1252, Lease, 1390 |
| --- | SBD10569 - Bibliographic reference: Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal. Vol 7, 1972, p 11 |
| --- | SBD10573 - Cartographic materials: 1870s-1880s. Ordnance Survey 6" Map, 1st Edition. |
| --- | SBD10574 - Article in serial: 1908. Victoria County History, Bedfordshire. Vol 1, pp 287-289 |
| --- | SBD10593 - Aerial Photograph: Cambridge AP index. CA 143-145 (9/4/1949) |
| --- | SBD10619 - Cartographic materials: Ordnance Survey 25" 1st edition map. |
| --- | SBD10624 - Bibliographic reference: J Godber. 1969. History of Bedfordshire. p 23 |
| --- | SBD10637 - Aerial Photograph: 1968. Hunting Aerial Photos 1968. 9/7420-7421 |
| --- | SBD10650 - Bibliographic reference: A Simco. 1984. Survey of Bedfordshire: Roman Period. p 119 |
| --- | SBD10652 - Aerial Photograph: 1976. Hunting Aerial Photos 1976. 12/1042-1043 |
| --- | SBD10681 - Serial: Bedfordshire Historical Record Society. Vol 14, 1931, p 38 |
| --- | SBD10706 - Bibliographic reference: Wadmore. 1920. Earthworks of Bedfordshire. pp 129-133 |
| --- | SBD10755 - Article in serial: Bedfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society. Vol 39, 1886 (p 165) |
| --- | SBD10783 - Unpublished document: 1937. Bedfordshire Regional Planning Authority Report. p 187 |
| --- | SBD10818 - Article in serial: CBA Group 9 Newsletter. No 7, 1977, p 20-22 |
| --- | SBD10876 - Bibliographic reference: Fisher. 1812. Collections of the History, Geneaology and Topography of Bedfordshire. Illustration |
| --- | SBD10901 - Article in serial: Britannia. Vol 8, 1977, p 400 |
| --- | SBD10965 - Unpublished document: OS: TL 05. TL 05 NE 2 |
| --- | SBD11029 - Bibliographic reference: L Webster, J Cherry. Medieval Britain in 1976. p 233 |