Pirton, Hertfordshire

Pirton is today a nucleated village clustered around the church and adjacent earthwork remains of an imposing motte and bailey castle, situated just over 5km north west of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. Extensive earthworks south and east of the motte are variously considered to represent the remains of either village or manorial settlement. Burge End Farm, containing the remains of a possible moat, lies c. 0.3km to the north of the present village, while a second, better-preserved, moat lies 500m to the south-west at Rectory Farm. Both these sites are to the north of the present village, with other farms lying on the southern fringes of the settlement.