Quince Hill ringwork is defended by earthen banks and deep ditches. The main defences consiste of a ditch of V-shaped profile, about 10m deep and 20m wide, surrounding part of an enclosure 80m wide. On the uphill side of the enclosure is a crescent-shaped bank which is about 15m high relative to the bottome of the ditch and tall enough to give a clear view over the crest of the hill. On the downhill side, the natural slope afforded some protection and less massive defences may have been necessary. On this side any earthworks have since been levelled but the line of the infilled surrounding ditch can be observed as a slight break in slope of the hillside. The main defences were further strengthened, on the uphill side, by an outer bank and ditch. The ditch is between 8m and 12m wide and up to 3m deep and its bottom is partially waterlogged. Within the ditch is a bank 2.5m high and there is a small terrace, 60m long by 15m wide, between the outer bank and the inner ditch. The entrance to the ringwork was on the north west side marked by a causeway across the two ditches and by slight depressions in the banks.
The ringwork dates to the late Saxon or early Norman period but there is evidence of Roman settlement in the vicinity. The name "The Quinces" was applied to the site in the 17th century and a 19th century edition of the OS 1 inch map shows the castle defences were then still visible as a complete circuit.
The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No 20411)
| --- | SBD10507 - Photograph: BCC Photographic Unit. Plan |
| --- | SBD10508 - Slide: HER Slide Archive. 2171-2172 |
| --- | SBD10543 - Bibliographic reference: Bedfordshire Magazine. Vol 8, p 270 |
| --- | SBD10544 - Newspaper Article: Bedfordshire Times. 10/1/1846 |
| --- | SBD10551 - Unpublished document: Bedfordshire & Luton Archives and Records Service Documents. BLARS: W2593, claim to manor, 1605 |
| --- | SBD10574 - Article in serial: 1908. Victoria County History, Bedfordshire. Vol 1, p270; 2, p 15; 3, p 252 |
| --- | SBD10652 - Aerial Photograph: 1976. Hunting Aerial Photos 1976. 8/2255 |
| --- | SBD10706 - Bibliographic reference: Wadmore. 1920. Earthworks of Bedfordshire. pp 117-119 |
| --- | SBD10755 - Article in serial: Bedfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society. Reports, Vol 6, 1853, p 428 |
| --- | SBD10783 - Unpublished document: 1937. Bedfordshire Regional Planning Authority Report. no page ref |
| --- | SBD10794 - Unpublished document: Bedford Archaeological Society. List of moated sites, n.d. |
| --- | SBD10803 - Scheduling record: English Heritage. SAM record form. No 20411 |
| --- | SBD10902 - Bibliographic reference: P Bigmore. 1979. Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Landscape. p 41 |
| --- | SBD11048 - Cartographic materials: 1834. OS 1" 1st ed. Earthwork shown as complete circle |
| --- | SBD11057 - Unpublished document: OS: TL 14. TL 14 SW 8 |
| --- | SBD11283 - Article in serial: British Museum Quarterly. No 35, "Quints Hill", 1971, pp1-4, 82, 279 |