More information : (SU 30357498) Enclosure (NR). (1)
A roughly rectangular univallate earthwork enclosing 2 acres,about 150 yds south-east of Membury Fort (SU 37 NW 6). (2)
Excavation by Grimes in 1941 revealed within the enclosure a complex of buildings. The earliest resembled in plan a small 12th century keep. Over the ruins of this lay a house of normal plan, perhaps 13th century, with later additions. There was also a chapel. The defences were entirely of earth except that one round tower had been built into the bank. Signs of early Roman occupation were found under the Medieval site. (3)
A disused airfield occupies this site and the perimeter track covers the eastern half of the earthwork. It seems unlikely that anything remains. (4)
The eastern half of the earthwork is overlaid by an airfield perimeter track. The western half, in arable, is so denuded that only amorphous irregularities survive.
The situation, on a plateau with no natural defence suggests a fortified manorial site rather than a 12th century castle. (5) |