Woodstock Town Defences

In the civil parish of Woodstock. In the historic county of Oxfordshire (Modern Authority of Oxfordshire, 1974 county of Oxfordshire).

C14 wall projected but probably never built or never completed. From VCH - Although the town was granted murage in 1322 (Cal. Pat. 1321-4, 42) there is no sign of fortification except for the park walls. There were bars at the town's entrances. Ale Bar gate on the Oxford road, recorded in 1504, was presumably the gate at the Town's End or Oxford gate referred to in C17. (Boro. Mun. 83/1 p 43; ibid. 79, ff. 171v.-172) In the early C16 there were bars on the east side of the town, (P.R.O., E 134/25 Eliz. I/Hil. 4) one probably on the present Hensington Road, another near the north end of Common Acre, barring the lane called Hensington Way or the way to Banbury. (Ibid.; Magd. Coll. Mun., Woodstock deeds no. 2; above, Intro) In 1583 it was recalled that the townsmen had received Henry VIII at Castle Hill, (P.R.O., E 134/25 Eliz. I/Hil. 4) apparently at the north end of Common Acre. In 1436 a toft and croft at the north end of Oxford Street extended eastwards to 'Castle Wall', (Magd. Coll. Mun., Woodstock deeds no. 2, of which missing words are supplied by ibid. EP 110/35) and a street, possibly the later Upper Brook Hill, leading to the same feature was mentioned c. 1461; (Boro. Mun. 83/1 p 4) there was apparently a small earthwork near the north end of Union Street in C19. (O.S. Map ,500, Oxon. XXVI. 8 (1876 edn.)) The nature of the 'castle' is unknown: an adulterine castle said to have been built at Woodstock by the Empress Maud may have been merely a fortification of the king's houses in the park. (Blenheim Mun., plans in wooden chest.) (VCH)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP448168

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 623310
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p258
    Crossley, Alan (ed), 1990, 'Woodstock: Development of the town' VCH Oxfordshire Vol12 p333-42 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=11217
    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
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Polls (1321-4 p42)