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Lyneham Hillock Wood

In the civil parish of Lyneham.
In the historic county of Wiltshire.
Modern Authority of Wiltshire.
1974 county of Wiltshire.
Medieval County of Wiltshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SU027804
Latitude 51.52251° Longitude -1.96390°

Lyneham Hillock Wood has been described as a Timber Castle but is rejected as such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Alleged site of a motte and bailey. A ditch and trackways are present. Not an antiquity. (PastScape)
? The remains of a Norman motte and bailey of about 4 acres. South of Hillocks Wood (VCH).
This is a ditch, averaging 4.0 m wide, with only slight banks on either side and it runs S.W. from the edge of Hillocks Wood for approx 100 m. then turns N.W. down a slope for some further 200 m. (F1 JP 24-AUG-68).
Situated below the crest to the S and commanding only a limited view to the N, the feature is not defensive and it is difficult to conceive either a camp, or a motte and bailey, in this position.
What seems most likely is that the ditch represents two separate tracks converging on a farm near the top of the hill, of which a brick barn still survives.
The original authority for describing the site as 'an ancient camp' was W.J. Parsons; while for the 2nd Edn. O.S. 25" Mrs. Cunnington described it as 'a ruined motte and bailey', though it is doubtful if she visited the site. (PastScape)

Mentioned as motte and bailey (Pevsner). There is nothing on ground here; older OS maps show a shapeless earthwork, nothing like a motte and bailey. (King 1983)
Comments

Creighton writes the earthworks are eroded hollow-ways.
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:20:10

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