Details

The monument includes a small ringwork situated on a gentle west facing valley
slope in a field called The Bury. The earthwork remains comprise a circular
enclosure with an overall diameter of 40m formed by a bank up to 10m wide at
base and averaging 1m high. The central area of the enclosure appears slightly
hollowed. The bank is most pronounced around the southern part of the site but
is less well defined elsewhere. There is now no visible trace of a surrounding
ditch though this will survive as a buried feature having become infilled over
the years. To the north of the enclosure is a series of earthworks
representing a portion of a once more extensive area of ridge and furrow
cultivation. This is separated from the enclosure by a well defined plough
headland some 8m wide and up to 1m high.
All boundary features and structures are excluded from the scheduling although
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.

The Bury ringwork, although disturbed, remains a good example of its class.
The central area remains intact and will contain archaeological deposits
relating to the occupation of the site. Environmental evidence pertaining to
the immediate landscape in which the site was constructed will also survive,
sealed beneath the surrounding bank and in the buried ditch fills.
The proximity of the site to the nearby Lavendon Castle, of which it may be
the precursor, adds to the significance of the site and contributes to a
fuller understanding of early medieval settlement in the area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Card no 1293,
Field visit record, Mynard, D C,

Source: Historic England