Totternhoe Knolls

Coordinates: 51°53′19″N 0°34′44″W / 51.8887°N 0.5789°W

Totternhoe Knolls
Totternhoe Knolls
 Totternhoe Knolls shown within Bedfordshire
OS grid reference SP97789221
List of places
UK
England
Bedfordshire

Totternhoe Knolls is a chalk hill, located north-west of Totternhoe village in the county of Bedfordshire, with the remains of a medieval castle.[1] It is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as an example of chalk grassland.[2] It is also a Local Nature Reserve.[3][4]

At the west end of the hill, there were medieval quarries for Totternhoe Stone. This area is called the Little Hills, and it is managed as a nature reserve by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.[5][6]

Totternhoe Castle

Totternhoe Castle was an 11th-century Norman motte and triple bailey castle. It overlooked the villages of Eaton Bray and Stanbridge. The Norman builders levelled the top of the hill, creating a wide area of chalk grassland. The fort, on top of a raised mound, was surrounded by a wall; at first made from timber and later stone.

The site was excavated between 1921 and 1932, and again in 2001. The 2001 excavation revealed evidence that the castle was built on the site of a prehistoric and Roman enclosure.

The site is a scheduled monument. Only earthworks remain of the castle.[7]

References

  1. ↑ J. Dyer, Bedfordshire, Shire County Guide 12, ISBN 0-85263-858-2, 1987, p. 11.
  2. ↑ Natural England, Totternhoe Knolls.
  3. ↑ "Totternhoe Knolls". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Map of Totternhoe Knolls". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Wildlife Trust, Totternhoe Knolls and Totternhoe Quarry.
  6. ↑ Wildlife Trust, Blooming gorgeous in Bedfordshire.
  7. ↑ The Gatehouse, Totternhoe Castle.

External links