Scheduled MonumentsEnglandLeafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church

Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church

England
List entry 1008405
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1008405
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.19 hectares
Grid reference
SP 31601 15412
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Leafield Barrow is a motte castle situated approximately 220 metres north-west of St Michael and All Angels Church in Leafield, Oxfordshire. The monument consists of a substantial earthwork mound characteristic of Norman fortifications, dating to the medieval period following the Norman Conquest of 1066. Such motte castles represent early post-Conquest military architecture, typically constructed to assert Norman authority and control over newly conquered English territories. The site's proximity to the parish church reflects the strategic positioning of such defensive works within medieval settlement hierarchies.

Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1008405. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church?

Leafield Barrow is a motte castle situated approximately 220 metres north-west of St Michael and All Angels Church in Leafield, Oxfordshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1008405.

Who is responsible for protecting Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church?

Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church 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 1008405.

What other scheduled monuments are near Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pair of confluent bowl barrows 200m SSW of Bockett's Corner on Leigh Hale Plain (3.4 km), Dovecote 125m north of Minster Lovell Hall (4.1 km), Pain's Farm bowl barrow 30m south of Pain's Farm Cottages (4.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church

Leafield Barrow: a motte castle 220m north west of St Michael and All Angels Church stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.