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Blimey....

 

Apparently the funding is to come from the defence budget 

Access to certain parts of the interior will be curtailed as they have to be closed off to members of the public

I am just waiting for the same work to be done for Hadrians Wall.....

Quote from: Imperial Dave on March 31, 2025, 10:22:04 AMI am just waiting for the same work to be done for Hadrians Wall.....

I think that is scheduled for when Scotland rejoins the EU and we need to defend our borders again 

 

Quote from: Keraunos on March 31, 2025, 10:49:14 AM

Quote from: Imperial Dave on March 31, 2025, 10:22:04 AMI am just waiting for the same work to be done for Hadrians Wall.....

I think that is scheduled for when Scotland rejoins the EU and we need to defend our borders again 

At which point it might make sense to build a wall along the border?

Depending on exactly who you count, the population of England, north of the wall, is about 1.3 million. Which is about a quarter of the population of Scotland.
It might actually be good for some Scots as it would pretty well double the number not living in the Central belt (depending on exactly how that is defined :-)

Alternatively, moving the border north to the southern edge of the Central Belt would only add about 260,000 to the population of England 

 

Returning to Bedford castle (my knowledge of which is wholly lacking), does anyone know at what date the motte was apparently encased by its present stone facing? My presumption is that it is a relatively modern development, possibly connected with its recent transformation into an 'archaeological park'.  The news story may indeed be reporting the restoration of ancient remains – the pictures perhaps suggesting that the stonework is ancient – or is it merely reporting repairs to a modern revetment to the much diminished remains of a conventional earthen mound? Anyone know?

Well, according to this summary, major stone rebuilding took place in the 13th century. Unfortunately, it doesn't speak specifically about revetting the motte.

Thanks Anthony,

Yes, I saw that before posting. Other info online suggests the castle was unusual in having stone revetted ditch facings but otherwise suggests a conventional later stone wall surrounding the top of the motte plus a rebuilding of the keep-tower in stone.