The Aubreys is an Iron Age defensive enclosure, oval in shape and covering approximately 8 hectares. It’s now right next to the M1 and the B487 between Hemel Hempstead and Redbourn, and is relatively close to Watling Street (now the A5183).
There’s a double bank and ditch around most of the enclosure, except for on the west side where there’s only a single bank and ditch. There have been flint finds at the site suggesting occupation as far back as 4000 BCE. Excavations indicate that in it’s last incarnation as a fortification, the site was not a permanent settlement. It was abandoned during the Roman period.
There’s a horrible looking (mostly modern) hotel built into the edge of the site. This stands on the site of a 13th Century farmstead.
The name Aubreys is derived from the Anglo Saxon meaning an old fortified place.
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