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Dantre Deer Park and John of Gaunt's Castle (also known as Daventry Wood)

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 to 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 to 1540)

Survival

Lost

Hectares

25

Civil Parish

Daventry

References

References