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Hertfordshire HER
.
| HHER Number: | 12426 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | BLACKSMITH'S POND (COMMON), PIRTON |
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Summary
Village pond, a remnant of a medieval moat surrounding the Toot Hill castle bailey
Monument Types
- COMMON LAND (Historic: period uncertain - 410 AD to 1900 AD)
- MOAT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1500 AD)
Associated Events
- Monitoring at 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, 2012 (Ref: HN971)
- Monitoring of garden works at Bury Cottage, 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, 2013 (Ref: HN1070)
Protected Status
- Area of Archaeological Significance
Full description
Registered common land <1>. NGR = approximate centre.
The later 19th century OS maps <2, 3> shows the pond extending further south beyond the path to Toot Hill, and marks it 'Moat' in lettering denoting an antiquity. It was then slightly wider at the north end than it is now. It was evidently regarded as part of the outworks of the castle [32], with a detached water-filled portion to the south at TL 14848 31554 which no longer survives, and another at TL 14758 31563, which does (although reduced). These pieces of water appear to have been part of a moat around the Toot Hill bailey, separate from the moat surrounding the motte.
<4> shows the complete layout. Groundworks behind 6 Walnut Tree Road (an early 19th century house), just east of the pond, revealed part of the pond's edge as shown on the 1882 map <2, 5>. A deposit of subsoil and oxidised clay may represent consolidation and reshaping of the bank using material scoured from the pond <5>. This appears to have occurred more than once, as this southern end provided access to drinking water for cattle grazing on The Bury. In 2013 the edge of the bank here was restored to the historic line <6>.
<1> Commons Register, CL 249 (Digital archive). SHT2500.
<2> OS 25 inch map, 1st edition, 1881-82 (Cartographic material). SHT8116.
<3> OS 25 inch map, 2nd edition (1897-1901), 1898 (Cartographic material). SHT8113.
<4> Letchworth Museum, 1988, Survey of earthworks at Great Bury, Pirton (Cartographic material). SHT6552.
<5> Snee, James, 2012, 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, Hertfordshire; archaeological monitoring report, RNO 3306 (Report). SHT8197.
<6> Ashworth, Helen, 2013, Bury Cottage, 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, Hertfordshire: summary report, RNO 3326 (Report). SHT8457.
Sources and further reading
| <1> | Digital archive: Commons Register. CL 249. |
| <2> | Cartographic material: OS 25 inch map, 1st edition. 1881-82. |
| <3> | Cartographic material: OS 25 inch map, 2nd edition (1897-1901). 1898. |
| <4> | Cartographic material: Letchworth Museum. 1988. Survey of earthworks at Great Bury, Pirton. |
| <5> | Report: Snee, James. 2012. 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, Hertfordshire; archaeological monitoring report. watching brief. RNO 3306. |
| <6> | Report: Ashworth, Helen. 2013. Bury Cottage, 6 Walnut Tree Road, Pirton, Hertfordshire: summary report. watching brief. RNO 3326. |
Related records
| 32 | Part of: TOOT HILL MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE, PIRTON (Monument) |
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