Aston Cantlow, Stocking Banks

Description

The ringwork castle on the western outskirts of Aston Cantlow village survives well and is only one of two known examples of this class of monument in Warwickshire and illustrates well the diversity in form of ringwork castles. The site is unencumbered by modern development and part excavation has shown that the foundations of medieval structures will survive as buried features, providing information on the construction of the castle and its occupation. Deposits from the accumulated fill of the ringwork and bailey ditches will cast valuable light on the economy of the site's inhabitants and for the landscape in which they lived. The site is also of importance because of the castle's short period of occupancy, and its abandonment in the 14th century will have sealed these early deposits, ensuring that they have not been disturbed by later activities.
The monument is situated approximately 80m north west of St John the Baptist's Church, on the western outskirts of Aston Cantlow village and includes the earthworks and buried remains of a ringwork castle and a double bailey.
The ringwork at Aston Cantlow is located within an area of fairly low-lying ground alongside the River Alne and is bisected by the course of a former railway. The ringwork itself is roughly circular in plan and enclosed by a bank and an external ditch. The surface of the ringwork is uneven, indicating that buried features associated with the site's occupation will survive here. Part of the ringwork was excavated in 1932, exposing a foundation wall of local lias stone, and fragments of pottery and roofing tile were recovered.
To the north of the ringwork is a rectangular bailey with rounded corners which is bounded by a bank and external ditch. Both the western and eastern bailey ditches are now used as field drains and are thus not included in the scheduling, whilst the infilled section of ditch at the north western end of the bailey which was previously overlaid by the former railway embankment will survive as buried feature and is included. A second, smaller bailey lies to the south east of the ringwork and is defined by a ditch and an external bank. The southern arm of the bailey ditch, which runs parallel to the river, has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature.
A slight linear earthwork, aligned north west-south east, is visible to the north west of the ringwork but it is not considered to be contemporary with the occupation of the castle and is not included in the scheduling.
Documentary sources indicate that the ringwork castle was constructed by the Cantilupe family and was inherited by the Hastings around 1273. By 1392, however, the castle, its barns and granges were in ruins. (Scheduling Report)