Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3314 The Camp, Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire (Manor Farm Hillfort)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Bedford Borough 315 (None)

NMR:  TL 05 NE 4 (360303)

SM:  1012066

NGR:  TL 08475 59765

X:  508475  Y:  259765  (OSGB36)

Summary

At Manor Farm, Bolnhurst, an probable slight univallate hillfort later reused in part as a medieval moated site. Irregular in form, comprising a single bank and external ditch enclosing approximately 6ha. The bank, which is now reduced by cultivation, survives up to 1m high and 25m wide. The ditch has been infilled and survives only on the N, NW and S sides. School Lane runs E-W through the enclosure. The medieval moated enclosure makes use of the ditches to the N of School Lane and these still hold water. A small pond in the northern area is probably medieval or post medieval. No internal features contemporary with the hillfort are known although there are numerous small earthworks which are undated. The bank and ditch are overlain in the N and NE by modern buildings. Minimal investigations, undated. Scheduled as a univallate hillfort

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -46009  Y:  6840980  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -0.4133036790964257  Latitude:  52.22537797776046  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Bedford

Historic County:  Bedfordshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Bolnhurst and Keysoe

Monument Condition

On Heritage at Risk Register (2015).

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Overlain in the S and E by buildings

Current Use:
Woodland   ✗
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✓
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✓
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✗

Landscape

Hillfort Type

A lowland fort lying on relatively level terrain at 79m OD

Type:
Contour Fort   ✗
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✗
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✓
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✗
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✗
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✓
Spur   ✗

Dominant Topographic Feature:  Level ground

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  79.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

The site is undated

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   Medieval moat

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Recorded as a moat on historic OS mapping. Reference in VCH 1904; Field investigation in 1974. Scheduled 1995.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1904):   None
Other (1974):   Field investigation
Other (1995):   Scheduled

Interior Features

No internal features contemporary with the hillfort are recorded

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✓
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✗
None   ✓
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

The location if entrances is not recorded

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Single bank and external ditch enclosing approximately 6ha. The bank survives up to 25m wide and 1m high. The ditch has been infilled and survives only on the N, NW and S sides. School Lane runs E-W through the enclosure. The medieval moated enclosure makes use of the ditches to the N of School Lane and these still hold water.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   6.0ha.
Total:   6.0ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✓
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗
Unknown   ✗

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✓
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Goddard, A. R. 1904. Victoria County History of Bedford, Vol 1, 275-6



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


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