The Brough of Deerness is a very interesting Viking settlement site off the east coast of Orkney mainland.  Unlike the Brough of Birsay, access to Deerness is not limited by the tides.  It should be noted, however, that access is relatively difficult (see photo).  You must first negotiate a slippery and sometimes muddy path down to the bottom of Little Burrageo and then a steep narrow path up to the Brough.  It's worth it, though!  There is a viewing point from the mainland if you do not wish to attempt the climb to the Brough.

The Brough is a c....

St Oswald's Priory was founded c. 890, and shows evidence of 6 phases of building before c.1086.

Today part of the north wall survives, but excavations of the site were carried out in 1967, 1975-8 and 1983.  The excavations showed that the first church had a rectangular nave, rectangular chancel, north and south porticus and a western apse.  In the early 10th century a rectangular crypt was added immediately east of the chancel, and in the mid 10th century the western apse was removed.

The site lies north-west to the Cathedral between Priory Road and Archdeacon Street.

Asthall Barrow is an important late 6th - early 7th century cremation burial.

The site was excavated by E. T. Leeds of the Ashmolean Museum in 1923 -24.  Among the finds was a Merovingian bottle jar (Ashmolean Museum AN1923.769).

The surviving earthwork is currently suffering badly from damage caused by burrowing animals.  The Asthall Barrow is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and this damage has been reported to English Heritage, but as yet no policy of protection has been announced.  Visitors to the site can help protect it by taking phographs of the current state of damage and...

Leigh Court Barn was built in the early 14th century and was constructed to hold produce from the estate farms of Pershore Abbey, Worcestershire.

The barn is of cruck construction and is a very early example of this type of building technique.  It is also the largest surviving cruck construction in Britain, with a length of 46 m..

The waggon doors on the south side of the building are original, but the doorways on the north are later additions.

The original infill of the wall panels was wattle and daub, although very little of this remains,...

Deddington Castle is a large and impressive Motte and Baily Earthwork Castle.  A substantial earthwork encloses an area of c. 3.4 hectares, with an inner baily at the east end enclosing an area of c. 0.4 hectares.

The castle was constructed shortly after the Norman Conquest, and it was almost certainly built for Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux.

The Motte itself has suffered somewhat, having been partly demolished as part of the restructuring of the castle in the 12th century, and it was further dug away in the early 20th century for the construction of rifle butts.