alderton - super-ringwork & suspect(ed) motte james petre journal 2019-2020rev7... · 2020. 11....

157THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 29: 2015-16THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO 33: 2019-20

Alderton - super-ringwork; suspect(ed) motte

Alderton - super-ringwork & suspect(ed) motteJames Petre


ALDERTON (Northamptonshire)super-ringwork; suspect(ed) motte

James Petre‘Ringworks’ and mottes are not always easyto differentiate. Indeed it is arguable that itserves no purpose to try. Did the Normans whobuilt them draw any distinction? Certainly theydo not seem to have had a specific word for a‘ringwork’ unlike their word for a motte - mota(Latin) or la mote/motte (French). Even now,in this age when we aim to categorise andlabel, it is not always straight-forward todistinguish between them. Where is the linedrawn? ‘Ringwork’ castles could have adominant structure – a principal buildingwhich the chief occupied or used as his head-quarters; that structure could be placed on aplatform enhancing its eminence, though notso remarkably that we would label it a toweron a motte. Equally, some mottes could be sopuny, at least as seen today, as to barelywarrant that name. Some mottes may havestarted life as ‘ringworks’ which werestrengthened causing contraction and infilling;some ‘ringworks’ were later superseded byneighbouring mottes but conversely theopposite seems true as well.1 In short, it is hardand perhaps unwise to draw lines at all. This caveat made, it is interesting to look atareas where there are clusters of ‘ringworks’.One such group is in south-west Northamp-tonshire. The most famous in this group mustbe Sulgrave owing to the well-known archae-ological investigations which were carried outthere some half a century ago.2 Yet the‘ringwork’ at neighbouring Alderton is verymuch more impressive. Indeed it is by far themost substantial of the whole group. Thiscentury it has been extensively explored –both in terms of its history and archaeology,but not all the available data is easily accessed.As a result, Alderton is at once important yetremains relatively unappreciated.

Much work on the ‘ringwork’ has beencarried out by local people including CSGmember Brian Giggins, but especially JohnKliene who lives in the village. He haswritten both on it and on the lost, later,nearby manor house. In its extensive gardenis a mound which might be a low motte orsecond ‘ringwork’.3 I am indebted to Johnfor giving me access to these unpublishedworks and also the archaeological reports onthe main site which occurred 2000–2012.

ALDERTON ‘ringwork’ [The Mount]Descriptive overviewThe main site in Alderton is the ‘ringwork’,known simply as ‘The Mount’, lying on thenorth-east side of the village.4 Theearthwork is a roughly triangular area onlyabout one meter higher than the surroundingland, but a substantial ditch, up to 5m deepin places, surrounds it. A well-marked innerbank or rampart, which varies in height from1m to 1.5m above the interior, encloses theraised area inside the ditch. The line of theditch along the south-west side of the sitehas been filled in and several houses builtover it. The ditch is depicted on a map of1726, where the ditch is shown filled withwater and the area is called ‘Castle Mound’.5

HistoryWilliam the Conqueror assigned the manorof Alderton to his half-brother, Robert,Count of Mortain. He held ninety-ninemanors in Northants among his total of 793.No castle is mentioned in Domesday (1086),where Robert is recorded as holding twoestates in Alderton. An un-named thegn heldone hide from Robert, and Robert himselfheld two hides and half a virgate indemesne.6 Though the count hadconsiderable lands in Northamptonshire, hewas not much interested in the county anddoes not appear to have established a caput



there, choosing rather to concentrate hisefforts in south-western England and in theRape of Pevensey in Sussex. He left theadministration of his estates inNorthamptonshire almost entirely to hisvassals.7 It is then unlikely that Robert ofMortain would have established a castle atAlderton. During the Anarchy (1139-54) the manorwas held by William Warenne, 3rd earl ofSurrey, a supporter of Stephen. It may behe who built the castle. The first historicalrecord of a castle is said to be in adocument of 1170 in the Bodleian whichnow cannot be traced.8 The next - andsecured - documentary reference to a castleat Alderton is in Gervase of Canterbury’sMappa Mundi, which dates to sometimearound 1200.9

About 1215, castle and manor passed fromthe earls of Surrey to William deBruere/Briwere, Bishop of Exeter, held bythe service of one knight’s fee. William diedin 1226. It then passed to his son who diedin 1231, and then on to the son’s five sisters.In 1245 the manor of Alderton was held bySir James Savage who in turn leased it out.In 1250 James’s son, Thomas, sold theSavages’ interests in Alderton on to Pagande Chaworth who eventually bought out theinterests of the Savages’ lessee.10 Aquitclaim of 1269 specifically mentions thecastle.11 The Chaworths were basedelsewhere so it is unlikely they did muchwith the castle, it then functioning as littlemore than a manorial administrative centre. Pagan was an officer in Edward I’sarmies and died in 1278 fighting theWelsh. He was succeeded by his brotherPatrick (d. 1282), then the latter’sdaughter, Maud, who married Henry, later3rd earl of Lancaster. In 1306, theyconveyed Alderton to Sir William de

Combemartin (d. 1318); it is hisimpressive wooden tomb which lies inAlderton church. William’s threedaughters, who each married three times,all had a share of the inheritance but noneshowed any signs of residing in the castle.One of the daughters, Joan, took as hersecond husband, Sir John de Wolverton,the village of Wolverton itself lying notfar away and where the motte beside thechurch may still be seen. A hinged, horseharness buckle decorated with theWolverton coat of arms was found byTime Team in the entrance trench in frontof the castle. Either Sir John or one of hisretainers appears to have dropped thiswhen visiting the castle. Another of thedaughters, Alice, took as her thirdhusband John de Hastings, earl ofPembroke. Her Inquisition post mortem(IPM) of 1364/5 mentions that Aldertonmanor then contained ‘certain ruinedstructures’. It has been posited that theserefer to the castle, reflecting that by then,it had passed out of use.12

Historically then, the available evidenceregarding the castle as distinct from themanor, is meagre. Lowerre found it diffi-cult to reach a satisfactory conclusion asto its beginning. He considered that thedistinct lack of interest which Robert,Count of Mortain had for Northampton-shire suggested that he was not responsi-ble for raising the Mount. Lowerreconceded that it is theoretically possiblethat after Robert’s death in 1095, his sonWilliam could have decided to fortifyAlderton, thus making Alderton a late-eleventh-century castle, but this, too, hefelt was highly unlikely. The lack of anyevidence to suggest that Alderton wasbuilt before 1100 led Lowerre to believethat Alderton was rather first built in thetwelfth century.13



ArchaeologyThere have been four campaigns ofarchaeology. Time Team made one ofits flying visits to the site in 2000 andopened five trenches.14 Then in 2009and 2010, Northamptonshire Archaeol-ogy worked on the site, over ratherlonger periods, partly reopening one ofTime Team’s trenches, but generallyconcentrating their efforts on the inte-rior of the castle.15 Finally in 2012,ground penetrating radar (GPR) wasemployed, again on the interior of thecastle, establishing what was to bediscerned up to the range of the equip-ment of 1.8m below the surface.16

The reports of these four campaigns aresummarised in John Kliene’s unfinishedwork on the site, as he left it in 2014. Klieneand other locals also undertook some field-walking in the surrounding areas.Amalgamating these archaeological reports,what we have is as follows:- This area, overlooking the River Tove,shows human activity as far back asNeolithic times. Pottery from the Iron Agehas also been found, Kliene commentingthat perhaps this is suggestive of an IronAge fort. Pottery and coin finds attesthuman activity in Romano-British, thenAnglo-Saxon times – Alderton was on thefrontier between the Saxon kingdoms to thesouth and the Danelaw to the north. Theasymmetrical shape of the castle, beingsomething of a quadrant of a larger circle,and hence unusual for a ringwork castle,has led to another suggestion that the castlewas a quarter slice of a defended Anglo-Saxon burgh. The amount of pre-Normanfinds in the castle itself is not, however,extensive and compares poorly with, forexample, neighbouring Sulgrave whereDavison (1977) found ample evidence of apreceding manorial complex.17

Radio-carbon analysis of a timber in the ditchprovided a date range of 1020-1270; potterywithin the rampart and from the ‘platform’within the castle yielded dates of early-mid-twelfth century and finally demolition rubblesuggested abandonment of the site by themid-fourteenth century. The deduction is thatthe castle was an Anarchy adulterine work andso then could be consistent with thefragmentary history set out above. Much of the archaeological effort focusedon the ‘platform’. This was found to carry astone building. The painted glass and workednature of the stone implied a high-statusbuilding, perhaps a chapel or structureincluding a chapel. Other finds included asmall medieval key and the tip of the sheathof a dagger. Medieval roof tiles in this areawere suggestive of either this building oranother substantial one adjacent. Nearbyfoundation walls were located, consisting oflimestone courses, one at least with a plinth.There had been much robbing of thesefoundation walls. Finally the discovery oflimestone blocks implied that the originalentrance was on the south-west side.


Excavation on the ‘Mount’ July 2010.© Neil Guy.


Key: 1. Modern entrance steps. 2. Ditch 3. Rampart 4. Interior 5. Platform 6. Original entrance on the SW now apparent between two small mounds.

Victor Ambrus’s reconstruction of Alderton ringwork as it may have looked in themid 12th century.© Victor Ambrus. View from the south.


N



TOP: Lidar image: https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map?ref=SP73954688. The suspected motte isringed, 200m to the west of the tree-studded triangular ringwork.BELOW: Google Earth Pro. View from the south. Motte ringed. Inset: Aerial view from the west.



ABOVE:: Alderton ringwork: Modern wooden stair entrance (Key 1). BELOW: Time Team’sinterpretation of the wooden palisade (now removed). Both images courtesy of J Kliene.


Top: Alderton Mount: Excavated plinth with rubble footing. Below: Alderton Mount: Rubble scatteron building platform (2010). Area marked:5. Both images courtesy of Neil Guy.



ALDERTON motte?Is there another ‘castle’ in Alderton? TheLIDAR image shows a circular mound withat least a partial ditch around it, to the westof the ‘ringwork’. The VCH of 2002 notedthat this mound is presumed to be the ‘moat’mentioned in a document of 1650(E317/Northants/15, ff. 2-4) and described itas a ‘prospect mount’. The Victoria CountyHistory (VCH) added a footnote, however,referring to a work of 2001 by John Kliene,that archaeology may indicate a motte.18

Kliene has written more extensively on thehistory and archaeology of this area since2001 in an unpublished booklet of 2005.19

This work centres on the mansion house builtby William Gorges in 1582 on the site of themedieval manor house. The Elizabethanmansion itself was in turn lost many yearsago, and was superseded by a series of stonefarm buildings which in the 1980s wereturned into houses. One of these houses isnow owned by Kliene and in fact his gardenincludes this mound feature. He commentsthat though the Royal Commission on

Historic Monuments (RCHM) calls thismound a ‘prospect mount’, it is called amotte on the Ordnance Survey (OS). Hecontinues that all the historians andarchaeologists who have visited the moundagree that it is not a ‘prospect mount’, whichwere usually higher, and that in particular,Stewart Ainsworth, who saw it in 2000,observed that the summit of the mound wasbig enough to support a structure as large asClifford’s Tower in York. That year (2000)Time Team carried out a geophysics surveyand discerned extensive stone rubble acrossthe mound’s top. There is a causewaycrossing the ditch which aligns roughly withthe axis of Church Street – the earlymedieval centre of Alderton. Klieneconcludes that the best interpretation of themound is that it is a defended manor house,‘possibly Anglo- Saxon’. Could it be thoughthat what we have here is another Normanwork and if so what could be the relationshipwith the neighbouring, sizable ‘ringwork’immediately to its east? The mound is nowa scheduled ancient monument.

Ordnance Survey 6”map of Alderton, Buckinghamshire IV. SW, Revised: 1898 to 1899, Published:1900. Reproduced and © National Library of Scotland.



Top: Alderton motte (suspected). View from the south-west. Below:The (suspected) motte. Viewfrom the west. Both images reproduced courtesy of J. Kliene.



Top: Aerial view of Alderton motte from the west, 1976, courtesy of J Kliene.Below: Kliene’s suggested reconstruction of William Gorges’s manor house as it may have appearedaround 1600. The mound and fish ponds have become garden water features. View form the south.© J. Kliene



Notes1 D. J. C King and L. Alcock, ‘Ringworks of

England and Wales’, Château Gaillard III, ed.A. J. Taylor, (London and Chichester:Phillimore, 1969) pp. 90-127.

2 B. K. Davison, ‘Excavations at Sulgrave,Northamptonshire, 1960-76; an interimreport’, The Archaeological Journal, Vol. 134,(1977), pp. 105-114. Later reprinted in, FiveCastle Excavations, Reports on the Institute’sResearch Project into the Origins of the Castlein England, Royal Archaeological Institute,(1978), pp. 105-114.

3 J.S. Kliene, The Mount, History andArchaeology (2014); J. Kliene, GorgesMansion House. The Lost Elizabethan ManorHouse of Alderton, Northamptonshire (2005).Both these works remain unfinished andunpublished.

4 D. J. C King, Castellarium Anglicanum (NewYork, London and Nendeln: Kraus, 1983), vol.II, p. 315 and note 1.

5 Royal Commission on the Historic Monumentsof England, [RCHME], An Inventory of theHistoric Monuments in the County ofNorthamptonshire, vol., IV, ArchaeologicalSites in South-West Northamptonshire(London: HMSO, 1982), pp. 61-2 and plate 3.

6 Great Domesday Book, Facsimile ed., 223,224, eds. A. Williams and R. W. H. Erskine(London, 1986-91).

7 A. Lowerre, Placing Castles in the Conquest.Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in theSouth- Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100, BARBritish Series 385 (Oxford, 2005), p. 240,citing Golding, Robert of Mortain, pp. 124,128-9 and 131-2.

8 Kliene, The Mount, p. 11

9 Gervase of Canterbury: Historical Works, ed.W. Stubbs, Rolls Series 73, (1880), vol. II, p.

431. For the date of the Mappa Mundi, see vol.I, pp. xxviii-xxix.

10 Victoria County History [VCH], A History ofthe County of Northampton, vol. V, ed. P.Riden (University of London, 2002), p. 43;Kliene, The Mount, p. 11.

11 Lowerre, Placing Castles, p. 240

12 Kliene, The Mount, pp. 12-13.

13 Lowerre, Placing Castles, p. 240

14 An Archaeological Investigation at The Mount,Alderton, Northamptonshire, Time TeamReport ALD 00, Channel Four television,Katie Hirst, 2006

15 Archaeological Excavation at The Mount,Alderton, Northamptonshire, July-August2009, Northamptonshire Archaeology, Report09/133, Tim Upson-Smith, 2009;Archaeological Excavation at The Mount,Alderton, Northamptonshire, July-August2010, Northamptonshire Archaeology, Report10/155, Tim Upson-Smith, 2010.

16 Ground Probing Radar Survey of The Mount,Alderton, Subsurface Geotechnical, ReportNo. 542, 2012.

17 Davison, ‘Excavations at Sulgrave; Kliene,The Mount, pp. 6-8, 20.

18 VCH, Northampton, vol. V, p. 45, citing J.S.Kliene, The manor house of Alderton. A shorthistory with illustrations, (2001).

19 Kliene, J., Gorges Mansion House. See esp.pp. 4-5 and 21; J. Kliene, pers. comm. Westof the mound were medieval fish pondsconverted into water garden features when themansion was built.


alderton - super-ringwork & suspect(ed) motte james petre journal 2019-2020rev7... · 2020. 11....

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