Details

The monument includes the remains of a small ringwork and bailey castle
situated on the summit of a prominent knoll. The ringwork is roughly oval in
plan with overall dimensions of 44m north west to south east by 24m
transversley. It has been formed by scarping the hilltop to form a flat topped
platform up to 1.6m above the surrounding land, with faint traces of a
surrounding ditch 3m wide and 0.1m deep. The earthwork remains of a bailey
enclosure lie attached to the north side of the ringwork. The bailey is
defined around its west and north sides as a low scarp 0.5m high formed by
cutting back the hillslope. The eastern side of the bailey can no longer be
recognised as a surface earthwork but will survive as a buried feature. The
hamlet of Berelawe recorded in the 13th century has been identified with the
site and the field surrounding the monument was named on a map of 1840 as `the
Briarleys'.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

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 ringwork and bailey south west of Lyndale survives well and is a good
example of its class. The ringwork appears largely undisturbed and will retain
archaeological information relating to its date, construction and occupation.
Environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which the monument was
constructed will be preserved in the fill of the ringwork ditch. The bailey,
although somewhat reduced by past ploughing, will also retain archaeological
information relating to its construction and use. Such monuments, when
considered either as single monuments or as part of the broader medieval
landscape contribute valuable evidence relating to the settlement pattern,
economy and social organisation of the countryside during the medieval
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Record 1082, Record 1082,

Source: Historic England