Scheduled MonumentsEnglandArbury Banks

Arbury Banks

England
List entry 1003893
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1003893
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
10.35 hectares
Grid reference
SP 49292 48625
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Arbury Banks is a multivallate Iron Age hillfort situated near Ashby-cum-Fenby in Northamptonshire. The monument comprises a series of defensive earthwork banks and ditches forming an irregular enclosure, characteristic of late prehistoric defensive architecture in the East Midlands region. Dating to the Iron Age, likely the later Iron Age period, the site represents a significant territorial or settlement centre of that era. The earthworks remain substantially visible in the landscape, though their precise chronology and functional interpretation continue to be informed by archaeological investigation and landscape survey.

Arbury Banks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003893. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Arbury Banks?

Arbury Banks is a multivallate Iron Age hillfort situated near Ashby-cum-Fenby in Northamptonshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1003893.

Who is responsible for protecting Arbury Banks?

Arbury Banks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1003893.

What other scheduled monuments are near Arbury Banks?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Market cross 45m north of church (0.6 km), Roman villa (1.8 km), Byfield market cross (5.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Arbury Banks

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Arbury Banks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Arbury Banks

Arbury Banks stands on Lias Group, bedrock that formed in the Aalenian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, limestone and sandstone.