Weston Underwood moated site

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameWeston Underwood moated site
Alternative NamesWeston by Laundene
Historic CountryBuckinghamshire
Modern AuthorityMilton Keynes
1974 AuthorityBuckinghamshire
Civil ParishWeston Underwood

Motte? The overall shape & size of the feature (i.e. moat & its enclosed area), & the strength of the ditch in relation to the small enclosed area, suggests a possible denuded motte. (Milton Keynes HER–ref. OS record card SP 85 19)

At the south-west end of the village is the church of St. Laurence. To the south of it is a moat, possibly once surrounding the chief messuage which the Pevers had here in 1315. (Chan. Inq. p.m. 9 Edw. II, no. 55). (VCH)

A homestead moat, now dry; east of it is a rectangular depression, apparently artificial. (OS; RCHME) Two rectangular depressions E of the moat, probably fishponds. (AP) o the SE of Weston Underwood on the gentle slope above the River Ouse, within a pasture field, is a moat enclosing an oval area measuring c 23.0m E-W by C15.0m N-S, and 0.7m above the natural ground level. The moat, C12.0m wide and 2.0m deep was formerly wet, but the retaining bank in the SE has been breached, and it is now dry for most of the year. The overall size and shape of the feature, and the strength of the ditch in relation to the small enclosed area, suggests a possible denuded motte. Immediately SE of the breach in the moat, and at a lower level, is a dried-up pond, itself breached, which is scarped into the natural slope. A similar pond, now dry, occurs c 60.0m to the NE. Their purpose is unknown; they are unlikely to be fishponds contemporary with the moat as they are at a lower level; more likely they are associated with traces of a Md landscape nearby (Field Investigator 1 PAS 25-JAN-73). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Identification as a possible motte either missed or dismissed by the usual castle authorities but the suggestion is not without justification, particularly considering the small size of some generally accepted mottes in the Welsh Marches. In 1315 the manor was held by service of a quarter of a knight's fee.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSP866502
Latitude52.1435890197754
Longitude-0.736310005187988
Eastings486620
Northings250290
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Page, Wm (ed), 1927, VCH Buckinghamshire Vol. 4 p. 497 online transcription
  • RCHME, 1913, An inventory of the historical monuments in Buckinghamshire Vol. 2 (north) p. 317 online copy

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1906, Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward II Vol. 5 p. 377 no. 597 online copy