Waulud's Bank

Waulud’s Bank is a Neolithic earthwork in Leagrave, on the northern edge of Luton in the East of England. It sits beside the River Lea, whose source lies within the marshy ground on the western side. The site occupies a low glacial ridge where the prehistoric Icknield Way once crossed the river. Excavations in the 1950s and 1980s confirmed its Neolithic date of around 3000 BC. Earlier Mesolithic flint tools show hunter-fisher groups had used the area long before. The earthwork forms a near-perfect ‘D’ shape, matching Marden Henge in Wiltshire. A turf-revetted bank of chalk and gravel stands up to 2.6 metres high, with an external ditch up to 9.2 metres wide. Finds include Grooved Ware pottery, animal bones and flint arrowheads, some now displayed at Stockwood Heritage Centre. The site may have begun as a cattle enclosure before becoming a henge monument. Brief re-use in the Iron Age, Roman and medieval periods has also been detected. Visitors see a grassy bank and ditch enclosing about seven hectares, though most internal features have been lost to later quarrying and building. The River Lea’s spring, known as the Five-Springs, lies in the north-west corner. Nearby Marsh Farm House once belonged to the landowners. Legends link the springs to the Celtic god Lug, after whom the river and town may be named. The name Waulud’s Bank may also echo Wayland the Smith, a Norse deity.