Scheduled Monuments›England›Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green

Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green

England
List entry 1007844
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1007844
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.66 hectares
Grid reference
TL 29714 23658
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Benington Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated west of Church Green in Hertfordshire, England. The site dates from the Norman period, likely established in the 11th century following the Norman conquest of England. The castle comprises a substantial earthen motte surrounded by a bailey with surviving defensive ditches and banks that remain clearly visible in the landscape. The monument represents a typical example of early Norman fortification strategy, whereby a raised mound provided a defensive strongpoint for timber or masonry structures commanding the surrounding area.

Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007844. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green?

Benington Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated west of Church Green in Hertfordshire, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1007844.

Who is responsible for protecting Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green?

Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green 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 1007844.

What other scheduled monuments are near Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Walkern Bury ringwork (2.6 km), Earthworks in Boxwood (3.6 km), Moor Hall: a moated manorial site and associated earthworks immediately north-east of Moor Green (4.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green'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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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Walkern Bury ringwork
2.6 km
Earthworks in Boxwood
3.6 km
Moor Hall: a moated manorial site and associated earthworks immediately north-east of Moor Green
4.4 km
Moated enclosures, Well Wood and Chapel Wood, Watton-At-Stone
5 km
Whomerley Wood moated site
5 km
The Six Hills Roman barrows
5.9 km
Roman site 440yds (400m) E of Backlane Wood
6 km
Linear earthwork in Perry's Grove
7.7 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green

Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

The wider landscape

Around Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green

St AlbansRoman town · ~14.3 milesGreat ChesterfordRoman town · ~17.6 milesCambridgeRoman town · ~24 milesBattle of Barnet 1471Battle (1471) · ~16.6 miles
Domesday entry for Bennington, Hertfordshire →
All Scheduled Monuments