Monument record 0678500000 - WICKEN WOOD, LECKHAMPSTEAD

Wicken Wood was included in the Woodlands of Northamptonshire Archaeological Survey in 2000. The wood was once part of the much larger Whittlewood Forest recorded as 'Whittlewuda' in about 1130. It is likely that the wood was divided into discrete blocks ranging from about 30-80 acres, with access routes and spaces designed to manage the forest for timber, grazing and deer hunting. Acts of Parliament in 1824 and 1853 led to the inclosure of the forest and its division amongst local landowners. As a result large areas were grubbed up and converted to arable. As a result Wicken Wood has been truncated. It has also been felled and replanted. Ramparts were observed in the form of a droveway agasinst Leckhampstead Wood with inernal ditches and slight banks. There are also ramparts to the north. Nothing was seen of the mound marked on the first edition OS maps and it may have been destroyed by a forestry road following the old coppice boundary/drive running NE towards Wakefield Lodge (B1).