St Mary Cray Hockenden (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Birch Wood

In the civil parish of Bromley.
In the historic county of Kent.
Modern Authority of London Borough of Bromley.
1974 county of Greater London.
Medieval County of Kent.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ50166893
Latitude 51.39953° Longitude 0.15722°

St Mary Cray Hockenden has been described as a Timber Castle but is rejected as such.

There are uncertain remains.

Description

Identified as a ringwork rejected by King as too weak and probably a millstead.

(TQ 50156892) A small ringwork, similar to Sweyn's Camp, Swanscombe (See TQ 57 SE 9 - now destroyed,) in Birch Wood. The wood has been cleared and cultivated as a small-holding. Probably a "motte" (Hogg). A large circular mound situated on the tip of a prominent, exposed spur that extends in a south-westerly direction from the main ridge at a height of approx. 225 ft. O.D. The mound is heavily overgrown with small trees and bracken, it measures approx 23.0m in diameter and 1.5m in height, and in the flat top there is a large saucer-shaped depression. The mound was originally surrounded by a ditch of which only traces survive, mainly in the SW quadrant. This feature is rather small for a motte, its position and appearance suggest a Windmill Mound; "Windmill Hill Wood' to the south seems to confirm this (F1 CFW 30-NOV-60). This mound is of a slightly elongated form with the long axis N-S. It has diameters of 27m & 23m, and is 1.5m high, with a hollow 3m across and 0.5m deep in an otherwise flattish top. A shallow ditch, 3m wide and from 0.1m to 0.3m deep, can be traced around the W and S sides. There are indications of an excavation trench from top to bottom of the mound on the SW but it does not extend across the ditch. As suggested by F1 CFW 30-NOV-60 it is most probably a windmill mound (F3 NVQ 24-OCT-86). (PastScape)

A large circular mound c. 23m diameter and 1.5m high, situated on a prominent exposed spur. In the flat top there is a large saucer-shaped depression. Originally surrounded by a ditch of which traces survive. Small for a motte: shape, position and name suggest it is a windmill mound. (Greater London HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 410023.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 070711/00/00.

Books
- King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 239 (reject)
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Hogg, A.H.A., 1934, OS map notation

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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