More information : SE 5731 3747 New Cut (NAT) (1)
SE 5731 3747. New Cut is a broad , flat bottomed ditch forming a
shallow dog-leg along the SW side of Castle Garth (see SE 53 NE 20), an area of common ground under pasture. It measures 260 m long, about 20 m wide and 2 m deep. At its obscured E end it may have joined with a ditch running NE-SW, which demarcates the SE boundary of the garth, but this ditch is of much smaller proportions than New Cut in common with all other ditches in and around Castle Garth, which, together with some fishponds and other earthworks, are considered to be the remains of a garden (see SE 53 NE 20). At the W end of New Cut, it is separated by a causeway, which existed at the time of the OS 1st edition, from Bishop Dike, an artificial waterway (SE 53 NE 22 - LINEAR 212) which has been recut and deepened below the level of New
Cut, and is now a drainage ditch. The size of New Cut suggests a function other than drainage, and the name, reminiscent of early modern industrialisation, may indicate re-use of an exisitng feature. On the N side of the New Cut is an irregular depression, marked `Willow Bed' on OS 1st edition at SE 5729 3752; this
may have been originally a quarry, perhaps for brick earth. (3)
Full history and description of Cawood village, castle and the
earthworks in Castle Garth including New Cut. Two possible
interpretations for the Cut are proposed. The first is that it may be
a relatively modern, post-Medieval feature, perhaps a fishpond; the
other alternative is that it is a `new' remodelling of an existing
depression, which again could be a fishpond, albeit probably
Medieval. But in view of the possibility that it was once connected
to Bishop Dike, it may have originated as a basin or wharf for boats
using the navigable Dike, certainly in the later Medieval period and
possibly earlier. Various other low scarps and hollows lie N of New
Cut but they form no intelligible pattern. (4)
SE 5738 3757. Cawood Castle and Castle Garth (see SE 53 NE 2 & 20): residence of the medieval Archbishops of York and associated enclosure containing gardens, five fishponds and a quarry pit [`Willow Bed'of Authy 4]. Scheduled RSM No 20539. (5)
Aerial photograph 31-Oct-1992 (6).
In October 2005, the Castle Garth was re-surveyed at 1:1000 scale by English Heritage, primarily as a training exercise in support of a community-based research and conservation project. The investigation essentially confirms the findings of Sources 3 and 4, while adding a number of significant details. The survey and a brief report are available from the NMR. (7) |