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Summary

Place and personal names misinterpreted in the 19th century as meaning a medieval castle by the river Lea

Monument Types

• (Former Type) CASTLE (Undated)

Associated Events

• Trial trenching at Aldwickbury Golf Course, 1993
• Evaluation at Aldwickbury Golf Course, Harpenden, 1993

Full description

Castle Farm [9517] is Causewell Farm on maps from 1676; 'Castle' is a modern corruption. On the south side of the river Lea, the field (561) on the 1840 Wheathampstead tithe map <2> is named 'Castle Meadow'. This was related by Canon Davys <4> to John de Leycester, a late 13th century rector of Wheathampstead; 'Leycester' was interpreted by the Canon as 'Lea Castle'. The supposed site was a small gravel knoll rising above the valley floor, forming a fordable river crossing. Trenches across the knoll in 1993 exposed 400 square metres of the knoll and showed it to consist of natural gravel throughout, with no trace of any earthworks or medieval occupation <3>. See [10491] for prehistoric remains and [10538] for Roman ovens.

<1> Renn, Derek, 1971, Medieval castles in Hertfordshire, - p25 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9405.

<2> Tithe map and award, Wheathampstead, 1840 (map) (Cartographic material). SHT1377.

<3> West, Simon, 1993, Aldwickbury golf course: an evaluation of the archaeological implications, RNO 450 (Report). SHT9272.

<4> Davys, Rev Canon, 1888, Wheathampstead; Trans St Albans & Herts Archit & Archaeol Soc for 1888, 9-13, - p9 (Article in serial). SHT2316.

<5> West, Simon, 1999, Aldwickbury golf course: a prehistoric and Roman landscape, RNO 998 (Report). SHT4291.

Sources and further reading

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