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| HER Number | MWB11902 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Features in Park Wood, Hampstead Norreys |
|---|
Summary
Earthworks suggested in 19th century as forming large enclosure which includes a motte/mound, but perhaps terraces related to ploughing
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 02469.03.000
- National Monuments Record No.: SU 57 NW 14
SU 5246 7584
Monument Type(s):
Full Description
DEEP DITCH WITH OUTER BANK, DESCRIBED BY EARLY WRITERS AS AN ENCLOSURE, MORE RECENTLY DESCRIBED AS A HOLLOWAY.
Gray's history <1> describes a large entrenchment or camp 'in the form of a coffin', in the southeast corner of which is the ancient barrow (now called Hampstead Norreys Motte). Within the enclosure towards the north side were 'two or three undulations' and in many places rabbits dug out burnt earth and cinders, hence this source concluded that this was an ancient British settlement. An 1850 plan <2> shows ancient earthworks at Hampstead Norris, including a section of bank still visible on OS maps (2001).
Money <3> describes the defences as a ditch with scarp and counterscarp on two sides of the parallelogram, and a ditch and slight rampart on the other sides. The VCH <5> considers the earthwork unfinished; Wood included it in a list of supposed Early Iron Age sites <7>.
The GIS record plots the northerly 'British Intrenchment' shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map <8> as well as the western and eastern earthworks which may represent terracing. Recent survey work in the wood has suggested that the so called entrenchment is a lynchet and a hollow way <9>. The NMR also record a hollow way and trackway at this location, although the most recent source dates from 1963 <10>.
A survey by Greenaway <12> suggested that the northern earthworks in Park Wood were steep high terraces, probably caused by ploughing.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Gray, E W (ed)?. pre 1839. The History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs. P220. [Monograph / SWB11182]
https://archive.org/details/historyandantiq00unkngoog (Accessed 16/07/2019) |
| <02> | MacLauchlan, H. 1850. “SKETCH of Ancient Earthworks at Hampstead Norris, BERKSHIRE, 1850 (Earwaker collection Item 19). [Graphic material / SWB149184] |
| <03> | Money, W. 1885. Collections towards a History of the parish of Hampstead Norris. p4. [Monograph / SWB12825]
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=uugGAAAAQAAJ&hl=en_GB&pg=GBS.PA1 (Accessed on 08/01/2021) |
| <04> | Newbury District Field Club. 1870-71. TRANS NEWBURY DISTRICT FIELD CLUB 1870-71 VOL 1. I. P208 in Archaeological Notes by Dr Palmer. [Article in serial / SWB10497]
http://dbooks.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/books/PDFs/303276063.pdf (Accessed 11/03/2019) |
| <05> | Ditchfield and Page (eds). 1906. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks I 1906. Vol 1. p258-9, 280. [Monograph / SWB10017]
https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo01ditcuoft (Accessed on 22/12/2021) |
| <06> | Peake, H. 1931. The Archaeology of Berkshire. p200. [Monograph / SWB10018] |
| <07> | Berkshire Archaeological Society. 1959. Berkshire Archaeological Journal 1959 57. 57. In ADS Journals. 10.5284/1000017. P82 in p74-82 The Early Iron Age Camp called Grimsbury Castle, near Hermitage, Berks by Peter Wood. [Article in serial / SWB10071]
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/berks_bas_2007/journal.cfm?volume=57 (Accessed 04/02/2016) |
| <08> | Landmark. 1872-85. Digital Ordnance Survey Mapping Epoch 1, 1:2500 (25 inch). Digital. 1:2500. [Map / SWB14341] |
| <09> | Greenaway, D. 2000-present. Personal Communication from Dick Greenaway about sites in West Berkshire. 05/01/2005, Park Wood. [Verbal communication / SWB146730] |
| <10> | Ordnance Survey. 1960s-70s. Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 NVQ 09-MAY-63. [Personal observation / SWB14640] |
| <11> | 1860. JBAA 1860 16. XVI. online. P229, Visit 15 Sept 1859. [Article in serial / SWB10466]
https://archive.org/details/journalofbritish16brit (Accessed 12/04/2016) |
| <12> | Greenaway, D. 2012. Woodland Archaeology in West Berkshire - Park Wood, Down Wood & Westbrook Copse, Hampstead Norreys. Surveyed December 2005 - January 2006. WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB148353] |
Related Monuments
| MWB1491 | Hampstead Norreys Motte (Mound south of St Mary's Church) (Monument) |
| MWB4166 | HAMPSTEAD NORREYS VILLAGE (Place) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB1254 | Woodland Archaeology in West Berkshire - Park Wood, Down Wood & Westbrook Copse, Hampstead Norreys. (D Greenaway) |
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