Tonman Ditch & Houndspath

In 1327 parts of the borough boundary were delineated by an earthen defense known as Tonman Ditch but this was not contiguous with the whole boundary line. Properties on the eastern side of lower St. Peters Street and Holywell Hill are frequently described as being bounded by this ditch on the east although an alternate name was Monk Ditch. A Great Ditch ("Magnum Fossatum") is recorded in 1245 but Matthew Paris, writing it must be admitted long after the event describes the town as surrounded by ditches in 1142. In 1265 the town was so strongly defended that it gained the nickname "Little London", a name still in use 40 years later.

Archaeologically little is known about this ditch but the associated bank was excavated in in the garden of the White Hart tap n Keyfield Terrace in 1975 and part of the ditch itself in 19..in the garden of what was then Bricket House in Upper Marlborough Rd.

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