Oakham Town Defences

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Okeham

In the civil parish of Oakham.
In the historic county of Rutland (Modern Authority of Rutland, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

Bond writes 'No remains of defensive town gates, not associated with wall or bank.' However Creighton, based on Radford, suggests the bank in Cutts Close is a remnant of more extensive defences now lost probably original an Anglo-saxon burh and that the castle was imposed with, rather than remodelled from a pre existing earthwork. Jones excavated a large ditch which may also have been part of the defences.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK860080

Sources of information, references and further reading

Books

Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p38, 267, 279
Cox, B., 1994, The Place-Names of Rutland (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society) pxlix-lii
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

Journal Articles

Creighton, O.H., 1999, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Rutland' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol73 p19-33 [plan]
Jones, E., 1995, 'An archaeological salvage excavation and watching brief at South Street, Oakham' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol69 p118
Sharman, J. and Sawday, D., 1990, 'An archaeological evaluation in the outer bailey of Oakham Castle (SK 862 089)' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol64 p88-94
Radford, C.A.R., 1955, 'Oakham Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol112 p183

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