Scheduled Monuments›England›Walkern Bury ringwork

Walkern Bury ringwork

England
List entry 1017470
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1017470
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.32 hectares
Grid reference
TL 30545 26107
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Walkern Bury ringwork is a defended enclosure of medieval date located in Hertfordshire. The monument consists of a circular or oval earthwork surrounded by a substantial bank and ditch, characteristic of ringwork fortifications that were commonly constructed during the 11th and 12th centuries. Such works typically served as administrative centres, manorial strongholds, or defensive positions for local lords during the Norman period and early medieval times. The earthwork remains substantially preserved as an archaeological feature, though like many ringworks it has seen limited formal excavation, leaving aspects of its specific chronology and function to scholarly inference based on its morphological characteristics and the settlement patterns of the surrounding landscape.

Walkern Bury ringwork is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1017470. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Walkern Bury ringwork?

Walkern Bury ringwork is a defended enclosure of medieval date located in Hertfordshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1017470.

Who is responsible for protecting Walkern Bury ringwork?

Walkern Bury ringwork 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 1017470.

What other scheduled monuments are near Walkern Bury ringwork?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Ardeley Bury moated site and fishpond (1.1 km), Moor Hall: a moated manorial site and associated earthworks immediately north-east of Moor Green (2.3 km), Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green (2.6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Walkern Bury ringwork

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Walkern Bury ringwork'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

Ardeley Bury moated site and fishpond
1.1 km
Moor Hall: a moated manorial site and associated earthworks immediately north-east of Moor Green
2.3 km
Benington Castle: a motte and bailey castle west of Church Green
2.6 km
Earthworks in Boxwood
3.5 km
Site of St Giles' Church and medieval village NE of Wakeley Farm
3.8 km
Whomerley Wood moated site
6.3 km
Moated enclosures, Well Wood and Chapel Wood, Watton-At-Stone
7.6 km
Section of Roman road in Rigery Lane
8 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Walkern Bury ringwork

Walkern Bury ringwork stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

The wider landscape

Around Walkern Bury ringwork

St AlbansRoman town · ~15.8 milesGreat ChesterfordRoman town · ~16.1 milesCambridgeRoman town · ~22.3 milesBattle of Barnet 1471Battle (1471) · ~18.2 miles
Domesday entry for Ardeley, Hertfordshire →
All Scheduled Monuments