Quidenham Vikings Mound (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
The Bubberies

In the civil parish of Quidenham.
In the historic county of Norfolk.
Modern Authority of Norfolk.
1974 county of Norfolk.
Medieval County of Norfolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TM02678781
Latitude 52.45078° Longitude 0.98118°

Quidenham Vikings Mound has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

This site refers to a mound on the west of Eccles Road on the north bank of the River Wittle. The name 'Viking's Mound' is a recent one and is part of the many exciting explanations offered for this site. Over time it has been incorrectly identified as a Bronze Age round barrow, the burial site of Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe, a battlefield site and a Viking monument. The most plausible interpretation of the mound is as the mound of a small Norman motte and bailey castle built by the D'Albinis in C12 to guard the ford. (Norfolk HER)

An imposing mound with surrounding ditch situated on a sloping spur, overlooking a river crossing, and now covered with undergrowth and trees, including an oak in excess of 300 years old. The mound has a maximum overall diameter of 20.0m and a height, above the ditch bottom, of 3.3m; the flat top, at its widest point is 13.0m in diameter, and shows no evidence of a former structure. The surrounding ditch is of impressive proportions, having a base width of up to 8.0m and a depth to the north west of 1.3m; owing to the natural slope this is reduced in the southeast quadrant to 0.4m; the ditch is broken by a causeway to the north-east 3.0m wide. The topographical situation, method of construction, and general appearance suggest this could be a castle mound. No reference to it could be found in the County Library, and it is not shown on early maps in the County Record Office. The name 'Viking Mound' is still in local use. The County Archaeology Unit say that this is the traditional site of Boadicea's burial. They suggest it might be a barrow later used as a mill mound, but there is no evidence to support this. (PastScape ref. Field Investigators Comments–F1 FDC 31-MAY-77)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1003978, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number nf192
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 387440.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 10785.

Books
- Liddiard, R., 2000, Landscapes of Lordship (British Archaeological Reports British Series 309) p. 101-2
  Rogerson, Andrew, 1994, 'Castles' in Wade-Martins, P, (ed), An Historical Atlas of Norfolk (2edn Norwich; Norfolk Museums) p. 68-9
  Margeson, S., Seiller, F. and Rogerson, A., 1994, The Normans in Norfolk (Norfolk Museums Service) p. 30
  Blomefield, Francis, 1805, 'Hundred of Giltcross: Quidenham' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 1 p. 333-344 (tenurial history) online transcription

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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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