Castlefacts³

Lavendon; The Bury

Has been described as a Questionable Timber Castle (Ringwork)

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains

Name	Lavendon; The Bury
Alternative Names
Historic Country	Buckinghamshire
Modern Authority	Milton Keynes
1974 Authority	Buckinghamshire
Civil Parish	Lavendon

Amorphous earthworks alleged to represent a medieval ringwork but more probably representing the remains of village shrinkage. Part of the earthwork may be caused by an amateur excavation. (PastScape)

The monument includes a small ringwork situated on a gentle west facing valley slope in a field called The Bury. The earthwork remains comprise of a circular enclosure with an overall diameter of 40m formed by a bank up to 10m wide at the base and averaging 1m high. The central area of the enclosure appears lightly 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 much 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 (EH scheduled monument description 1994) Small ringwork comprising a circular enclosure with overall diameter of 40m formed by a bank 10m wide at base & 1m high. Now no visible trace of a surrounding ditch. To the N is an area of ridge & furrow & a headland. Site may be a precursor of Lavendon Castle to N. (Milton Keynes HER)

Gatehouse Comments

The site is 100yds N of the Saxon parish church and the name does suggest a Saxon manorial centre. The suggestion is made that this was a ringwork precursor to Lavendon Castle. However, although was seen as a roughly circular earthwork 40yds in diameter 3ft high with a central depression quarried in the SE, it is dismissed as a soil dump. Lavendon castle would be unusual in not using the existing Saxon thegnal site but there were several manors in the parish of Lavendon even at the time of Domesday.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)

346981

County Historic Environment Record

www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MMK342&resourceID=1037

OS Map Grid Reference	SP916538
Latitude	52.1744995117188
Longitude	-0.661889970302582
Eastings	491600
Northings	253800