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Summary

Scheduled Monument, Mound situated in Park Wood just below crest of hill overlooking Hampstead Norreys and its approaches. Originally interpreted as a barrow, currently seen as a small motte.

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1007927: MOTTE AT HAMPSTEAD NORREYS, 250M SOUTH-WEST OF ST MARY'S CHURCH

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01028.00.000
  
• National Monuments Record No.: SU 57 NW 13
  
• Old Scheduled Ancient Monument (Berkshire): BK 108 Mound 300yds south of church, Hampstead Norris.
  Scheduling revised 03/02/1993

Monument Type(s):

• (Former Type) BARROW (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)
• MOTTE? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full Description

Grinsell originally described the monument south of Hampstead Norreys village as a fine bowl barrow 25 paces in diameter and 10 feet high <1>, but by 1939 <2> suspected that the mound 'which is very high', might be Norman. Crawford described the monument in 1934 as 'High Mound with ditch, depression. In top. The bank running NW from it is a big lynchet. Age of both doubtful' <3>.

Earlier sources <4><5><6><7><8><9> all referred to an ancient barrow or tumulus, in 'The Park' or 'Park Wood'. There appear to be no historical references to a motte.

The Ordnance Survey field investigator in the 1960s <10> considered that the conical mound was probably a small motte which is 'on an eastern slope below the crest of the hill and overlooks Hampstead Norris (sic) and its approaches' <10>. The earthwork was surveyed at this time; the 5th Epoch Ordnance Survey mapping <11> therefore shows it as a Mound rather than the previous Tumulus on earlier editions <12>.

The mound was scheduled as an ancient monument in the 1960s, and the scheduling revised in 1992 <13>. The description of the monument noted that the whole summit is hollowed to a depth of 0.6m <13> though in 1968 there had been a 'slightly concave top with trees, 6 yards in diameter.' The trees were removed in 1996 as part of a programme of monument management carried out by Babtie (working for Berkshire County Council) and English Heritage.

There is still not unanimous agreement of the classification of the earthwork as a motte; survey work by D Greenaway recorded that the mound was only 2.5m high when measured above the original ground surface, which is not excessively high for a barrow although it is very small for a motte <15>. His survey also found that the earthworks of the so-called Park Wood entrenchment cut the ditch of the mound and must post-date it.

An earthwork survey and LiDAR analysis of the mound by Whitman <17> concluded that the form of the monument is more likely to indicate a motte, rather than a barrow. Moreover, the author believes it was built in haste. A feature interpreted as cutting the edge of the mound has been dated to AD 1066-1517, giving a possible date for the mound. This date range was narrowed to AD 1066 - 1166 as after this date the lordship of the manor is well established. Accordingly, it was suggested that the mound may have been a watch tower constructed during the Anarchy of Stephen and Matilda <17>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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