St Neots’
Castle
When St Neot's Castle was first built is uncertain. Its location is
on the west bank of the River Great Ouse in Eaton Socon,
formerly Bedfordshire (TL1735890). It was probably a wooden palisade housing the
landowner’s troops. They could control river traffic upstream to
There is
archaeological evidence that shows a defensive site before the Norman Conquest.
Whether it was a defensive earthwork put up in Saxon times to defend the
settlements from the Vikings and Danes is not known. Whether the village was
ransacked during the Danish occupation of this area in the 10th
century is uncertain. It is possible that they built the earthworks. Certainly
their boats would have passed through this area. Their troops erected a wooden
stronghold on raised earth banks at Tempsford, a few miles south of Eaton Socon. It was called
According to the Domesday
Book of 1086, before the Norman Conquest,
Eaton, as it was then known, was one of Wulfmer’s Bedfordshire
estates (sometimes written as Wulfmar). He was
described as the great Bedfordshire ‘thane of King Edward’. The background of these people proves
interesting. An internet search revealed that Wulfmer
was a woodsman who was killed at
Following William, the Duke of Normandy, being
crowned king of
Full control over the
country was not achieved until 1072 and it may have been that some disgruntled
Saxons used guerrilla tactics to attack the occupying Normans. Hereward the Wake’s men were centred in the Cambridgeshire
fens, a short boat ride away to the northeast. Whilst it is possible that Eudo’s troops would have used captured Saxon men and boys
to improve the Saxon stronghold as a motte and bailey
castle, the Wikipedia website states the castle was not built until
around 1140AD, apparently without permission of the monarch. Which documents
were used to get this information were not quoted. It
went on to state that it was probably of timber construction, may never have
been completed and demolished about 15 years later by the order of King Henry
II. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_St_Neots)
British History Online
mentions that Eudo died in 1120 and that his lands
were then granted by the Crown to a member of the de Beauchamps
family. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42414
In 1156 Hugh de Beauchamp bought the manor from his father. Several sources
refer to the de Beauchamps having a castle in Eaton Socon. http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/hu/eaton/index.htm,
http://www.rootsweb.com/~enghun/places/EatonSocon.htm
In G. T.
Clark’s Mediaeval Military Achist.it is
stated that three deep semi-circular cuts were made to divert the water of the
river round it to make three fortified islands for extra protection. The outer
ditch was between 40 and 50 feet wide and the earth removed was banked up 8 -10
feet on the outside of the inner bailey. To increase its security a wooden
stockade wall would have been placed. In Dr Prior’s 1886 article on
Bedfordshire’s earthworks he included a complicated description: -
‘The work is composed of three
parts, an inner, northern and outer ward. The inner and northern wards lie side
by side upon the river, separated by a cross ditch. The two are contained by
another ditch, which communicated at each end with the river. Beyond this,
covering the south-western front, is the outer ward, and beyond this again the
outer ditch, which commences at the south-east corner of the mill lead, covers
the south-western front, and at the north-western angle sweeps round to join
the ditch already mentioned, and thus, through it to communicate with the river
at the north-east corner of the work.’
(
Access
was by a sloping way alongside the riverbank and a wooden bridge over the outer
ditch. Subsequent excavation of the site
revealed no masonry walls suggesting that there was little military opposition
to their take-over in this area. The earth from the inner ditch was built up to
create a high motte or mound, 15 feet higher than the
outer ward and about 40 feet wide. A small mound within this could indicate a
house platform where a wooden keep, the fortified family residence of the Eudo family, was built. Access to this motte
was by a fortified wooden bridge in its north-western corner. The northern
section had ramparts to the north and west. There is a markedly higher mound on
its north-eastern corner suggesting a fortified wooden watchtower. The Norman
soldiers would have been stationed in these outer and northern baileys.
Excavations near the southern entrance revealed human skeletons and long
swords. Human skulls were found in the ditch between the inner and northern
mounds and coarse burnt pottery on the river side below the motte.
(VCH, Beds. i,
p.297-300)
On the Gatehouse website, the comprehensive gazetteer of medieval
fortifications and castles of
Ringwork and bailey with partly
underlying Saxon cemetery and settlement identified from excavations. A large
horse-shoe ditch enclosing on the river side two sub-rectangular wards. Excavated 1949/50. In the northern ward were found at least
40 Saxon burials (associated with St Neots pottery) and there had probably been
there a settlement and a Church (stone and mortar debris was found overlying
the burials) defended by the horseshoe ditch which appears earlier than the
other earthworks. (
http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/148.html
Here was anciently a castle, the residence of a branch of the family of Beauchamps; BEAUCHAMP , the name of several important See also:
How can I tell Time Team about a possible new site to investigate?
Have you found a Roman mosaic under your patio? Unearthed an Anglo-Saxon
burial while digging up your lawn? If you have discovered anything that you
think Time Team should investigate, please write to us at the address below:
Programme Sites
Time Team
These are some of the basic elements that any successful Time Team site
must have. You need to be able to answer YES to the following questions for
your site to be suitable:
Is there a fascinating mystery?
Do you have a Viking burial site in your garden? Do you have evidence that the
local Roman town was even bigger than previously known? Why is there a pagan
bowl here, miles from the nearest Saxon town or cemetery? These are just a few
examples of the sort of thing that works for Time Team.
Will the site appeal to someone who has never heard of it before?
Are there well-known historical figures involved in the story? Is it unusual?
For example: is it possible you have the largest Roman temple, the first
Iron-Age fort or the only Civil War barracks in your area?
Is the digging area compact?
All sites vary in size, but Time Team can't work effectively over a massive,
disparate area. A garden, part of the local park or a corner of a school
playground – these sorts of areas give a manageable focus to the excavation.
Is the archaeology focused?
The question for Time Team to answer must be clear and concise and apply to one
period. Some sites have an incredible range of archaeology from the Bronze Age
to the Medieval, but it would be impossible to dig it all in three days.
Is it different from what Time Team has done before?
These days Time Team viewers have seen it all, so what makes your site unique?
The question you want the Team to answer needs to be different from anything
they've done before.
Do you have hard archaeological evidence?
Rumours of lost palaces and royal tombs are tantalising, but Time Team has to
have some hard archaeological evidence to work on.
Do you have a copy of the relevant Sites and Monuments Record?
Call the county council to obtain information on any previous archaeological
finds from your site. Usually the SMR officer will require the address or grid
reference to search for data. Please include a copy with your application.