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CLACK MOUNT

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A polygonal island surrounded by a ditch, circa 250m North-East of Bradenstoke Priory, with two mounds, the smaller of which is a World war II pillbox; the second mound measures 19m in diameter at the base and is 1.5m high. This is almost certainly, in its present form, a post-medieval prospect mount.

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[ST 998793]. Clack Mount [TI] CASTLE MOUND & BAILEY [GT]. (1)

Clack Mount is an earthwork, with high banks and an outside ditch enclosing a mound in the centre. It has been described as a 'fortified position' (2), 'Norman earthwork' (3), 'Castle Mound and Bailey (4), and Grundy identified it as 'Scufa's Barrow' mentioned in A.D.850 as a bound mark. In 1880 (6), however, it was described as a castle mound or a pleasaunce and fishpond,and its plan and proximity to Bradenstoke Abbey support this latter identification. The earthworks can be seen from air-photographs (7) to form part of a typical complex of fishponds and moat/drainage channel/ponds. (2-7)

Clack Mount is steep-sided and circular, and collapsed masonry is incorporated in the mound. Its position would be suitable for a castle site (good command to N.and W.), but the enclosing earthwork is a trapezoid of ditch and outer bank, seemingly non-defensive and probably part of the Bradenstoke Priory complex [ST 97 NE 5]. It occurs as 'Clak' (Assize Roll A.D.1310; G.D.R. A.D.1345; etc.) and this together with Grundy's indentification of it as Scufa's Barrow [though substantiation is required], would suggest that the mound pre-dates the Priory. The masonry content may well indicate a later adaption of the mound; certainly there is no reference to it in the literature on early castles. (8, 9)

Surveyed at 1:2500. On AM.

ST 99857932 'Clack Mount' (name continues in local use). No change since field report of 9.7.68. The earthworks are well preserved. 1:2500 AM survey still correct, transferred to MSD. (10)

Clack Mount was surveyed at a scale of 1:1000 by RCHME in Sep 1997 and Feb 1998 as part of an overall survey of Bradenstoke Priory. Clack Mount is a polygonal island surrounded by a ditch, and lies c. 250m north-east of Bradenstoke Priory. The island covers an area of c. 56 ha and stands c. 1.5m high. The southern side is 80m long and has a slight terrace for half its length; there is a similar terrace on the north-eastern side. Two circular mounds are situated on the island; the smaller one is a Second World War pillbox which is covered with earth and thick vegetation; it measures c. 8m diameter at the base and is c. 1.5m high. The second mound is located slightly to the north of the centre of the island and measures 19m diameter at the base and is 1.5m high. At the top is a circular depression, with a small cut, possibly former steps, on the western side.

Surrounding the island is a ditch; the southern side measures c. 12m wide, whilst the other sides are appreciably narrower, particularly in the north-west. The north-eastern side is remarkably straight and has the appearance of having been re-dug in recent years. It continues in a southerly direction almost as far as the road and in a northerly direction down the escarpment. Significantly, at the junction of the north and west ditches is a small causeway, possibly a sluice for controlling the flow of water. Along the western side of the ditch is a bank, probably formed by the upcast of the ditch.

Clack Mount, in its present form, is clearly a garden feature. Morphologically it appears as a moated site, with a probable fish pond on the southern side. Whether there were any structures on the island is uncertain; however, it now appears to be a prospect, probably dating to the 18th or 19th century, and would have provided an ideal resting place during a perambulation. (11)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

O.S. 6" 1960

( 2) General reference

Wiltshire Notes and Queries, 4, 1902-4,1-4,illus.

( 3) edited by R B Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall 1957 A history of Wiltshire: volume 1, part 1

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)181

( 4) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 5) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

Grundy 76, 1919 Page(s)166-7

( 6) The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine

19, 1880-1 Page(s)146-7

( 7) Aerial photograph

AM APs 1066/UK 1416/4252-3, 14.4.1946: Crawford Coll. F130-1, 11.8.32

( 8) by J E B Gover, Allen Mawer and F M Stenton 1939 The place-names of Wiltshire

English Place-Name Society : the survey of English place-names [county volumes]1 (1925) - vol.16 Page(s)271

( 9) Field Investigators Comments

F1 ANK 09-JUL-68

( 10) Field Investigators Comments

F2 GB 18-MAY-78

(11) General reference

RCHME FIELD SURVEY: BRADENSTOKE PRIORY

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