Introduction
This site is a former deer park that flourished from the late 13th century to some time in the late 15th or early 16th century. A small section of moat associated with a now demolished hunting lodge survives in a clump of woodland. The area is now an agricultural landscape of fields. One continuous hedge line on the west traces a former park boundary.
- History
The land was originally imparked during the period between 1271 and 1284 and it is thought that monks from Daventry Priory may have hunted there in the mid-15th century. The park fell into disuse in the late medieval period and is recorded as a coppice in 1571. The area was then known as Daventry Wood or The Wood until all the remaining trees were felled in 1816.
There was a stone building in the northern part of the park with a tower and a moat, known later as John o Gaunt's Castle. It was either a medieval hunting lodge or a fortifield manor. The remains of this building have been totally destroyed by quarrying. Only a small section of the moat remains.
Period
Medieval (1066-1540)
- Features & Designations
Designations
Historic Environment Record (Local Authority)
- Reference: SMR 1260 - MNN4008
Features
- Earthwork
- Description: A section of medieval to post-medieval double-ditched moat, which was part of the earthworks of John o Gaunt's Castle. The moat is now filled with dumped rubbish (1980).
- Key Information
Principal Building
Agriculture And Subsistence
Period
Medieval (1066-1540)
Survival
Lost
Hectares
25
Civil Parish
Daventry
- References
References
- Serjeantson, R. M., W. Ryland and D. Adkins {Victoria County History: Northampton, Volume 2} (London: Coinstable, 1906), p. 399 Victoria County History: Northampton, Volume 2