BARROW HILL

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DESCRIPTION

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Two mounds (one now destroyed). Surviving mound probably a medieval motte. Destroyed mound unclassifiable.

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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

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(TL 41701683) Barrow Hill, Tumulus (NR). (1)

Two barrows at Barrow Farm, NW of the railway and c 250 yards from the River Ash. The larger (Barrow Hill) is covered with brushwood, measures 100 ft in diameter and 35 ft in height, and a fairly level top measuring 47 ft N-S by 18 ft E-W. The smaller one is 50 yards south of the larger (and therefore at ca TL 417167) and is 30 ft in diameter and 7ft high. Cussons classifies them as Roman barrows and records that the smaller was excavated by Richard Braybrooke in 1851, when 'a few objects, but none of great archaeological interest, were discovered'; these have since been lost. (2)

The two barrows listed under 'Presumed Roman barrows'. (3)

Barrow Hill considered to be the mound of a Motte and bailey castle. (4)

Visited Jan 1950. Hemp's view concurred with. (5)

Barrow Hill - name verified. An artificial earthen mound situated near the crest of a SE-facing slope. The mound is tree and scrub covered and surrounded by an area under crop. (6)

Measuring c 43.0 m in overall diameter and c 6.6m high, it has a gentle sloping top, there being no evidence of flattening. There is no apparent mutilation apart from natural land slip on the steep sides. A very slight depression possibly indicating a ditch c 12-0m wide surrounds the mound except for the E side, but there is no trace of a berm.

There is no trace of the second, smaller mound in an area under crop. A Mr E Garritt (b) who once farmed this land, stated this mound was levelled c 1950, at which time it measured c 8.0m in overall diameter and c 2.0m high. He was only able to indicate the siting as area TL 416167.

The appearance and location of the larger mound suggest it is not a barrow, and although there is no trace of outworks having existed, it is probably a motte.

No certain classification can be made for the second smaller mound.
Published survey (25") revised.

Listed (7).

Medieval pottery found during fieldwalking confirms a Medieval date for this site (8)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1923

( 2a) General reference

Hist of Herts 1-3 1870-3 (J E Cussons)

( 2) Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society

E E Squires 1902-4 Page(s)130-4

( 3) Antiquity Publications Limited Antiquity

Dunning & Jessup 10, 1936 Page(s)52

( 4) East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society newsletter

W J Hemp 1, 1949

( 5) Annotated Record Map

Corr 6" (Holmes, 1950)

( 6b) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 JRL 24-MAY-73

( 7) by Derek Renn 1971 Medieval castles in Hertfordshire

Page(s)26-7

( 8) Hertfordshire Past and Present

P Richards 3, 1977 Page(s)4

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