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<< Our Photo Pages >> Maiden's Bower (Asenby) - Turf Maze in England in Yorkshire (North)

Submitted by HOLYWELL on Saturday, 29 January 2011  Page Views: 7283

Multi-periodSite Name: Maiden's Bower (Asenby)
Country: England County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Turf Maze
Nearest Town: Ripon  Nearest Village: Asenby
Map Ref: SE409750
Latitude: 54.169174N  Longitude: 1.375013W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
2 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Maiden's Bower (Asenby)
Maiden's Bower (Asenby) submitted by rogerkread : A closer view. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Turf Maze in Yorkshire (North)

Just beyond the village on a supposed motte and bailey site called significantly Maiden's Bower (a common name for sites with turf labyrinths and such I have named the site this although I am unsure if this is the name), is the remains of one of England's forgotten turf mazes. It measures 27 metres across with a 330 metre path long and beneath the overgrown mound a Chartres design similar to Breamore is some how preserved. It was last in good condition according to Allcroft (1908) in his Earthworks of England within living memory of that date as he states: ‘there are persons yet alive who have trodden it on many a summer’s evening and kneeling down at the centre have listened to hear the fairies singing’ .
It can be reached by a footpath behind the Crab and Lobster Inn and affords good views as well.
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Maiden's Bower (Asenby)
Maiden's Bower (Asenby) submitted by rogerkread : This photo shows the 'Maidens Bower' earthwork to be a stepped mound - though it looks like a maze in aerial view there is no visible trace of this on the ground. (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SE4075 : Maiden Bower, Topcliffe by Matthew Hatton
by Matthew Hatton
©2009(licence)
SE4175 : Topcliffe Motte, Maiden Bower. by Matthew Hatton
by Matthew Hatton
©2007(licence)
SE4075 : Outer Ditch of Cock Lodge by Matthew Hatton
by Matthew Hatton
©2009(licence)
SE4075 : Entrance to Cock Lodge by Matthew Hatton
by Matthew Hatton
©2009(licence)
SE4074 : The Swale below Topcliffe by Gordon Hatton
by Gordon Hatton
©2018(licence)

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"Maiden's Bower (Asenby)" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: Maiden's Bower (Asenby) by drolaf on Friday, 28 August 2020
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It is not a maze. It is a Norman motte and bailey castle, the motte later terraced to allow spiral access to the summit, as part of a landscaped garden.
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Re: Maiden's Bower (Asenby) by rogerkread on Monday, 15 April 2013
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Not sure about a path from the Crab & Lobster - easiest way is along the bridle way Winn Lane from near the centre of Topcliffe. This ends before the earthworks, but you feel the farmer is used to visitors - sign 'no sledging' beside a stile! A very interesting mediaeval site with complex earthworks, apparently a site of a stronghold of the Percy clan from the earliest days of the Norman Conquest. See an article on the earthwork structure and history with excellent aerial view here.
If there were once a maze here it would seem to date from the post mediaeval landscaping of the site. No visible traces for me on the ground - the stepped terracing didn't 'feel' like the remains of a maze, but who am I to judge?
Well worth a visit, whatever.
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