More information : (SP 69344881) Bury Mount (LB) (1)
"It is recorded that Edward the Elder ordered the defences of Towcester to be strengthened in 918, when the town was threatened by the Danes. Bury Mount, a mound formed of earth and gravel, is 22' in height, 102' in diameter, originally surrounded by a wet ditch. It overlooks the River Tove, and the E side of the town, controlling the old road to Northampton which crossed the river by a ford close at hand. It is a typical example of a post-conquest Motte or mound, the earlier fortifications (the whole perimeter defences of Towcester?) forming the bailey or outer enclosure. The summit has unfortunately been flattened by landscape gardening, and it is not possible to state whether it was surmounted by stone or timber defences." (2)
See annotated 25" survey. (3)
A well preserved tree covered castle mound. There are no remains of either a surrounding ditch or bailey but the feature is adjacent to water and an additional moated defence was probably not considered necessary.
Motte (SP 69344881) known as Bury Mount. Nothing is known of its history but it was apparently constructed in the late 11th to 12th century as the centre of a royal estate and lay adjacent to the medieval course of the road to Northampton. Alterations, apparently to serve as a gun platform, are recorded during the Civil War when Prince Rupert refortified the town in 1643. It is described as being 'surrounded by a motte [sic] which is supplied with water from the brook' in the early 18th century, and a surrounding ditch is shown on maps of 1843 and 1848-55 when the site was described as a Garden.
The surviving earthwork has an unusual profile, with gentle lower slopes surmounted by a near vertical face surrounding a level summit. The shape may be the result either of defensive improvements in 1643 or later gardening activity. [RCHM plan and profile] (a-e) (4)
Listed by Cathcart King. (5)
It is most likely that the mound was created during the Anarchy period. I 1392, it was described as a mound tower within a moat, and was probably similar to the mound at South Mimms. In 1643-4, Towcester was refortified, and the mound used to mount two cannon. (6) |