Bedford Town Bank and The Kings Ditch

In the civil parish of Bedford. In the historic county of Bedfordshire (Modern Authority of Bedfordshire, 1974 county of Bedfordshire).

A battle is said to have taken place at Bedford in 571. Bedford's position on the Saxon/Norse frontier meant that it was frequently involved in conflict between the English and Danes in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 919, Edward the Elder recaptured the burh from the Danes and ordered the construction of a second burh on the south side of the river. The fortifications are still to be seen as a water filled ditch, known as the King's Ditch, although the western part has now been built over. The town was captured and burned by the Danes in 1010. Excavations have revealed evidence for late Saxon and early medieval occupation. (PastScape)
Loop of ditch and trace of bank, prob. C10 origin, to south of river, no traces remain of Anglo-Saxon defences north of the river. Does not seem to have lasted as a defence very long into post-Conquest period and Bond puts the defences in his 'of no post-Conquest significance' list.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL050496

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 360162
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 10530 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p26, 48, 60, 64, 143, 216, 258
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p12
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences', in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p8
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p124
    Wadmore, Beauchamp, 1920, The Earthworks of Bedfordshire (Bedford) p61-3
    Page, Wm (ed), 1912, VCH Bedford Vol3 p1-2 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42369]
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Goddard, A.R., 1904, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Doubleday, H.Arthur and Page, Wm (eds), VCH Bedford Vol1 p280-1
• Journal Articles
  • 2001, Bedfordshire Archaeology Vol24 p40-46
    1985, South Midlands Archaeology Vol15 p18
    Baker, D., 1979, 'Excavations in Bedford, 1967-1977' Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal Vol13 esp p7-64
    1977, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol7 p43
    Hassall, J. and Baker, D., 1975, 'Bedford: aspects of town origins and development' Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal Vol9 p75-94
    (Baker), 1972, Medieval Archaeology Vol16 p186-7 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1972, CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol2 p23
    Hill, D.H., 1970, 'Late Saxon Bedford' Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal Vol5 p96-9
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • The Anglo-saxon Chronicle AD919 http://omacl.org/Anglo/ [Text based on Everyman Press edn of 1912]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities3.htm]