Roxton Palaceyard Wood (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Plash Yard Wood

In the civil parish of Roxton.
In the historic county of Bedfordshire.
Modern Authority of Bedfordshire.
1974 county of Bedfordshire.
Medieval County of Bedfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL131544
Latitude 52.17683° Longitude -0.34794°

Roxton Palaceyard Wood has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House, and also as a Palace although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

The earthwork in Palaceyard Wood is similar to a Norman Motte and bailey except the level of the island is the same as the surrounding land. The central "Motte" area is separated from the surrounding baileys by a moat, the soil of which has been piled on the outer edges to form ramparts. The ditch of the outer enclosures is very slight. In the large enclosure there are two circular shallow depressions. (PastScape–ref. Dyer)

A circular moat circa 70 metres in diameter, situated in Palaceyard Wood. The arms, which are still waterfilled, vary from circa 6 metres to 12 metres wide. There is no trace of a structure within the level wooded interior. The overflow channel to the north is wide and may have been converted to a fishpond. The purpose of the ditches forming a U-shape to the north east of the moat is uncertain. Mr P C Bath, landowner, retains one of several stone roof tiles found circa 1946 in the enclosed area when replanting trees. Local tradition asserts that there was a monastic settlement here but the name "Palaceyard" suggests perhaps a Bishop's Manor House. (PastScape–ref. field investigators comment, 1975)

The 1813 Enclosure Award map shows the site as called Plash Yard Wood – possibly deriving from 'palis' or 'paleis' and so implying a palisade that may once have been a feature of one of the enclosures. Palaceyard Wood appears to be therefore a moated site designed to serve a variety of farming purposes. (Petre 2012)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1010948, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 11536
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 362970.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 816.

Books
- Petre, James Scott, 2012, The Castles of Bedfordshire (Lavenham: Lavenham Press for Shaun Tyas) p. 105-6 (discounted as castle)
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 17 (slight)
  Brown, A.E. and Taylor, C.C., 1991, Moated sites in Northern Bedfordshire: Some surveys and wider implications (University of Leicester, Vaughan Paper 35) p. 9-17
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 8 (possible)
  Wadmore, Beauchamp, 1920, The Earthworks of Bedfordshire (Bedford) p. 169-171
  Page, Wm (ed), 1912, VCH Bedfordshire Vol. 3 p. 218-22 (Roxton manorial history) online transcription
  Page, Wm (ed), 1912, VCH Bedfordshire Vol. 3 p. 181-85 (Great Barford manorial history) online transcription
  Goddard, A.R., 1904, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Doubleday, H.Arthur and Page, Wm (eds), VCH Bedfordshire Vol. 1 p. 302
Periodical Articles
- King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  Dyer, J.F., 1962-3, 'Bedfordshire Earthworks VIII, The Castles: Part One' Bedfordshire magazine Vol. 8 no. 63 p. 350
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Historic England, 2016, Heritage at Risk East of England Register 2016 (London: Historic England) p. 2 online copy
  Historic England, 2015, Heritage at Risk East of England Register 2015 (London: Historic England) p. 2 online copy
  English Heritage, 2014, Heritage at Risk Register 2014 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 2 online copy
  English Heritage, 2013, Heritage at Risk Register 2013 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 2 online copy
  English Heritage, 2012, Heritage at Risk Register 2012 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 21 online copy
  English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 20 online copy
  English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 18 online copy
  English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009 East of England (London: English Heritage) p. 27 online copy

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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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