Details

The monument includes a ringwork castle and part of a later medieval droveway
which ran through it. It is situated at the top of a steep slope, which falls
southwards to the River Great Ouse, lying adjacent to Hill Farm and south of
the St.Neots Road.
The ringwork, once known as Addingreves Castle, comprises an earthen bank 8m
wide by up to 3m high enclosing a circular area 40m in diameter. The bank is
breached by two entrances, one at the west and the other at the north-east.
Surrounding the ringwork is a ditch which is up to 24m wide. This has become
infilled over the years and is now only about 1m deep at the south and west
and is totally infilled on the north and east. Its width is evidence that the
original depth would have been much greater. The northern edge of the ditch
lies beneath the carriageway of the road and is partially altered by a modern
roadside drainage ditch which is about 2m wide and 2m deep. Despite this, the
bottom of the ditch is considered to survive intact on this side. The
southern arm of the ditch recently held standing water but is now dry.
The medieval droveway ran between Bedford and St Neots largely on the line of
the modern road but, where the road is diverted to the north of the ringwork,
traces of the trackway survive as later alterations to the earthwork.
Opposite the western entrance a ramp or hollow-way 15m wide leads out of the
ditch, extending for 30m beyond its outer edge. There is a distinct camber to
this ramp and also in the entrance to the ringwork which has been widened to
accommodate the track. The track continued east, out of the second entrance,
and followed the line of the modern road.
Adjacent to the monument are slight and poorly defined earthworks which
indicate that the land was under cultivation in the medieval period. A number
of burials were found on the site in the early 19th century while the monument
was erroneously described as a Roman Amphitheatre on early maps. The monument
is now considered to be a Norman castle and although some scholars have
suggested that the ringwork might have been built by the Danes in their
defence of the Danelaw this has not been proven. After the castle's demise,
the earthworks no doubt served as a shelter and watering place for livestock
being driven between Bedford and St Neots on the trackway.
The fences on the north and east of the site, and the surface of the St Neots
Road are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath them is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late
Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended
area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a
substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a
stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the
bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military
operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements.
They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60
with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted
range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular
significance to our understanding of the period.

Howbury ringwork is located on a medieval trackway. These were usually
unmetalled and formed by prolonged use for the transport of goods and
livestock. Such trackways are widespread throughout England and provide
important evidence for economic links between rural communities in the
medieval period.
The ringwork is the best preserved in Bedfordshire and, despite some
alteration due to road construction, contains undisturbed archaeological
remains in the interior and retains its potential for the recovery of
environmental evidence from the fills of the ditch and from buried
landsurfaces beneath the rampart banks. Such evidence may combine to provide
a detailed insight into the nature of the monument and the status and economy
of its inhabitants.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Dyer, J F, Archaeology and Landscape, (1972)
Goddard, A R, The Victoria History of the County of Bedfordshire, (1904)
Wadmore, B, The Earthworks of Bedfordshire, (1920)
Williams, S, The Victoria History of the County of Bedfordshire, (1912)
Other
Harrison, S., Information from owner, (1991)
J.R.L., Ordnance Survey Record, (1975)
Title: Bedford Museum map (O.S. correction sheet)
Source Date:
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England