Towcester Town Defences

In the civil parish of Towcester. In the historic county of Northamptonshire (Modern Authority of Northamptonshire, 1974 county of Northamptonshire).

"There are no significant above ground remains of former medieval town defences or gates at …Towcester' (Creighton and Higham). Bond puts in 'Roman defensive circuit partly or wholly re-utilized in Anglo-Saxon period, but of no post-Conquest importance' list. PastScape report reads "Roman, Early Medieval, Medieval and Post Medieval town. Referred to by the Antonine Itinerary as Lactodorum, a ditched and walled town. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle records the fortification of Towcester after a Danish attack in 921. Excavations have found this wall set in the debris of the Roman wall. During the civil war the town was again walled on the Roman line, by Prince Rupert, but was slighted in 1644 and abandoned to the parliamentarians." If the defences were capable of being restored in C17 then possible post-Conquest use can not be entirely dismissed.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP69194897

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 970198; 1074750;
341226
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) p266
    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) Vol2 p320
    RCHME, 1982, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northampton Vol4, Southwest Northamptonshire (HMSO) p5
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p122
    Serjeantson, R.M., Ryland, W. and Adkins, D. (eds), 1902, VCH Northampton Vol1 p184
• Journal Articles
  • Brown, A.E. and Alexander, J.A., 1982, 'Excavation at Towcester, 1954: the Grammer School site' Northamptonshire Archaeology Vol17 p24-59
    1978, Northamptonshire Archaeology Vol13 p182-3
    Green, M.J., 1975, 'Romano-British non-ceramic model objects in south-east Britain' Archaeological Journal Vol132 p54-61 [List 63, no28]
    Alexander, J., 1967, Bulletin of the Northamptonshire Federation of Archaeological Societies Vol2 p19
    Simms, R.S., 1953, Archaeological Journal Vol110 p212
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Anglo-Saxon Chronicle AD 922 http://omacl.org/Anglo/ [Text based on Everyman Press edn of 1912]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#norts3]