You’ll only see one round barrow here, and it’s quite sizeable, being 3.5m high. But there was actually another 25m to the east, which was lost by ploughing. I wonder what twist of fate led to one gaining itself a name, and the other disappearing. Can the ‘Ickle’ be to do with the ‘Icknield’ Way, which is close by? But it’s on a hill so I don’t know where the ‘ford’ must be from.
Some excavations were made in 1816, when a cremation burial was found, along with two bronze spear heads and a copper blade. A skeleton was also found in or near the mound – perhaps this was from a later era?
The barrow is not far from Wilbury Hill and the Icknield Way. You can probably see it quite well from the train between Hitchin and Letchworth.
(facts and figures from the scheduled monument record on Magic)
I'm not sure where you got the name Ickleford from in this case as it is quite a way from Ickleford (which is just north of Hitchin) - but that name is related to the Icknield way.
Hi Stephen - they imply the name is traditional in the scheduled monument record at magic.gov.uk/rsm/20636.pdf
I guess in the past it was a lot nearer Ickleford than the original villages from which Hitchin and Letchworth expanded, unlike today?