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HER Number | MWB3338 |
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Record Type | Monument |
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Name | HAMSTEAD PARK PALE |
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Summary
Scheduled Monument 19012. Earthwork and cropmark remains of a deer park boundary enclosing about 100 ha; nine sections are scheduled monuments
Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status
- Scheduled Monument 1015953: PARK PALE IN HAMSTEAD MARSHALL PARK
- Registered Park or Garden (II) 1000525: Hamstead Marshall Park
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01342.02.100
Monument Type(s):
- PARK PALE (Medieval to Late 19th century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
Full Description
SM 19012 (3/9/92) OS 1963- 3 OF THE 4 SIDES OF DEER PARK READILY TRACEABLE ON THE GROUND AS NINE SECTIONS OF BANK UP TO 0.8M HIGH AND 7M WIDE AND EXTERNAL DITCH 0.6M DEEP AND 2.5M WIDE. THE 4TH N- SIDE PROB. FOLLOWED THE LINE OF THE NATURAL TERRACE ON THE S SIDE OF THE R KENNET. EAST SIDE FOLLOWS (former) PARISH BOUNDARY. ENCLOSES AN AREA OF 101ha. DESTROYED SECTIONS VISIBLE ON APS.
<1> The scheduled monument includes nine earthwork remains of the park pale of a once extensive deer park of approximately 100ha in extent. The pale can be traced on the ground around the west, south and east sides of the park, where it survives as a series of disjointed protions of linear bank upto 0.8m high and 7m wide with an external ditch 0.6m deep and 2.5m wide [NB This is puzzling, as deer parks generally have an internal ditch - comment Sarah Orr 21/11/2006]. On the north side of the park there is no pale, the boundary probably following the line of a natural terrace along the south side of the River Kennet.
Money <3> apparently erroneously attributed the park pale ('the extensive earthwork which stretches obliquely across the park') to the Celts.
Representation of this monument on the linked GIS derives from aerial photographic evidence <6> and mapped earthworks, and is more extensive that that of the scheduled banks (some of which are not mapped very accurately). A further section of park pale (not depicted on the GIS) was apparently located during a survey within North Lodge garden, to the east of the eastern most motte <7>. If this interpretation is correct, there must be some phasing of the pale's construction, with the L-shaped stretch of bank east of here being a later alteration. A field visit in November 2006 (see Monitoring notes) suggested that in fact there are many surviving earthwork banks in Hamstead Park which might have formed elements of the pale at different periods in its existence; there is good documentary evidence that the park's size changed several times.
Sources and further reading
<00> | Babtie. 1995. Hamstead Park Historic Tree Survey and Management Plan. [Unpublished document / SWB146846] |
<01> | Historic England (previously English Heritage). Schedule of Monuments. [Unpublished document / SWB12738] |
<02> | 08/03/1969. BCC15/6.188-9. [Photograph / SWB3725] |
<03> | Newbury District Field Club. 1875-86. TRANS NEWBURY DISTRICT FIELD CLUB 1875-86 VOL 3. P105. [Article in serial / SWB11187] |
<04> | Ditchfield and Page (eds). 1906. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks I 1906. Vol 1. [Monograph / SWB10017] https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo01ditcuoft (Accessed on 22/12/2021) |
<05> | Crawford, O G S. 1953. Archaeology in the Field. p191-2, 194, Fig 32. [Monograph / SWB7827] |
<06> | RCHME. 1995-1999. Berkshire - National Mapping Programme. [Unpublished document / SWB146801] https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/NMP/ (Accessed on 14/01/2022) |
<07> | RCHME. 1989. A Descriptive Account of Earthworks in the Garden and Neighbourhood of North Lodge, Hamstead Marshall parish, Berkshire. WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB13946] |
Related Monuments
MWB3337 | HAMSTEAD MARSHALL DEER PARK (Monument) |
MWB22050 | Linear boundary earthwork, running from south of The Dower House in Hamstead Park to the River Kennet (Monument) |
MWB22051 | Linear earthwork field boundary running southwest from Wise's Wood in Hamstead Park (Monument) |
MWB22051 | Linear earthwork field boundary running southwest from Wise's Wood in Hamstead Park (Monument) |
MWB22051 | Linear earthwork field boundary running southwest from Wise's Wood in Hamstead Park (Monument) |
MWB22051 | Linear earthwork field boundary running southwest from Wise's Wood in Hamstead Park (Monument) |
MWB22049 | Linear earthworks on east side of Hamstead Park, partly a boundary with Enborne Copse (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
EWB885 | Berkshire - National Mapping Programme (Ref: 1064614) |
EWB912 | Hamstead Park Historic Tree Survey and Management Plan |
EWB1677 | Hamstead Park Revised Parkland Plan |
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