ANCIENT EARTHWORKS it and the steep slopes to the river on the south and west, there are many old lines of trenched work now almost levelled out. As this place is only 3 miles from Bedford, and near the scene of the conflict, 1 it is possible that it may have been an outpost of the Danes, by means of which, with Willington, they secured the passage of the river. The older ordnance maps call it ' a Roman amphitheatre.' II. PERSONAL STRONGHOLDS; THE FORTIFIED SEATS OF MANORIAL LORDS The county is rich in various types of earthworks ot this class which have certain features common to most of them, such as a strong central posi- tion specially fortified for keep or hall; mills, fishponds, and more often than not, the church ; and, outside all, lines of entrenchment enclosing a wide area. In one matter these sites are much alike : they are either deserted and left to the possession of ' conies ' and great trees, or they are occu- pied by small farmhouses, often placed in the central hold. The first is nearly always the case with the moated mound series, which are the least adaptable to later habitation. In these the mounds are generally found in one of two forms, either (a) large, conical and flat-topped, often with a smaller mound superimposed ; or (b) small and semi-globular. (c) A third class consists of works with irregular mounds, or merely moated. (a) WORKS WITH CONICAL FLAT-TOPPED MOUNDS ( i ) Bedford Castle. — This was the chief and greatest of these. 3 It is first heard of in Stephen's siege (i 136). The only remains now of its great entrenchments are the lower part of the demolished mound, 160 feet in diameter by 25 feet in height, with, on the north and east, a fine seg- ment of surrounding ditch, 50 feet wide by 8 or 9 feet in depth ; and parts of mounded work further north again, now covered with buildings. Not many years ago the last of its moats was filled in to make a road down to the river, and traces of others have come to light during ex- cavation for the rebuilding of various business properties in the High Street, which stretched back some distance into the castle area. The mound, with the keep, which stood upon it, and the rest of the castle buildings were ordered to be destroyed after the great siege of 1224; since which time it has enjoyed centuries of peaceful life as a famous bowling-green. Leland, Camden, Defoe and Lysons all refer to it in this later capacity. There is no mention of any castle in Domesday. It is often stated that some earlier stronghold stood on the site to 1 Leland speaks of a number of skeletons having been found 2 miles nearer to Bedford ; and five years ago, whilst the ground was being levelled in making the Russell Park, several more were found, lying east and west, with Saxon swords and spearheads, which are now in the council chamber. Between that point and this Rcnhold work, also by the river, stands the barrow-like mound of Risinghoe, close to a small bridge, always known as ' Bloody Battle bridge.' 3 Castellum editissimo aggere vallatum {fiesta Stephani [Rolls Ser.], 32). 285
