Cublington; The Beacon

Description

The deserted medieval village of Cublington, centred around a medieval motte castle known as 'The Beacon'. The castle mound is conical in appearance with a flattened summit, measuring in total about 35 metres in diameter and 8 metres high. It is thought to have been constructed either by Gozelin the Breton, who acquired the manors of Cublington as a result of the Norman Conquest, or by the de Chesney family, who held the land in the 12th century. The earthworks surrounding the motte reflect part of the post-Conquest village of Cublington, a settlement which included at least 39 households in 1283. The village was abandoned soon after 1341, possibly as a result of the Black Death, although it was resettled around 1400 when the focus shifted eastwards around the newly built parish church of St Nicholas. The original parish church stood stood 50 metres to the south east of the motte, its location marked by a rectangular enclosure measuring 50 metres by 40 metres. A broad hollow way approaches the northern corner of the churchyard from the east. A lesser hollow way branches to the north of the main route near the motte, and slight earthworks surrounding this junction are thought to suggest the location of former buildings. The main section of hollow way continues in the direction of a large fishpond to the south west of the motte. A small square extension on the north eastern side of the pond may have served to separate the breeding stock. A pair of square enclosures, possibly paddocks, extends between the fishponds. The enclosures are each approximately 50 metres square defined by shallow banks and ditches. (PastScape)