Great Munden (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Roughground Wood; Levens Green

In the civil parish of Great Munden.
In the historic county of Hertfordshire.
Modern Authority of Hertfordshire.
1974 county of Hertfordshire.
Medieval County of Hertfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL356213
Latitude 51.87282° Longitude -0.02735°

Great Munden has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

Description

GREAT MUNDEN (Roughground Wood) TL 356213. Tiny moated mound SW. of square enclosure of bank and ditch. (Renn)

A clearly defined small fortified camp is situated on the NE edge of Roughground Wood (area TL 359121). On the NE side a brook has been enlarged to form a wet moat about 360 ft long and 86 ft wide. From the upper end of this moat runs a ditch about 30 ft broad at right angles into wood. It turns left parallel to the moat, some 25 ft wide, until it nearly reaches a narrow, steeply sloping ditch which forms the fourth side of the enclosure. The enclosed area measures about 300 ft long and 176 ft wide.
Andrews suggests a Roman date for the camp, and states that brick fragments and a horseshoe of possibly Roman date have been found within the enclosure.
Described as a moated mound (TEHAS 1928-9).
Early Iron Age and later pottery has been found both here and in a neighbouring field (CAS 1926). (Andrews; TEHAS 1928-9; CAS 1926)
Similar description to Andrews. The mound marks the site of a 15th century sunk-post windmill, nothing of which is to be seen above ground (Pevsner). (PastScape)

Tiny moated mound immediately SW of a square banked & ditched enclosure (Andrews). It marks the site of a 15C post-mill. Waterfilled, trees on mound (Cave-Penny, Helena (HCC) site report. Site visit 17.1.86). Site appeared unaltered in 1987; nothing to add to description (MWT (HCC) site visit. 16.3.1987). The mill mound may be shown on Seller's Map of 1676, but it may instead show the nearby mill at Fellowsfield Common. (Hertfordshire HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 368044.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 783.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 49 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 221
  Renn, D.F., 1971, Medieval Castles in Hertfordshire (Chichester: Phillimore) p. 20 (doubtful)
  Pevsner, N., 1953, Buildings of England: Hertfordshire p. 184
Periodical Articles
- Moore, Cyril, 1985, 'Hertfordshire windmills' Hertfordshire's Past Vol. 19 p. 2-17
  1928-9, Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol. 8.1 p. 138
  1926, Congress of Archaeological Societies 34th Report p. 19
  Andrew, H.C., 1924-5, 'An unknown earthwork at Old Hall Green' Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society 7.2 p. 105-8

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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