Richmont Castle: the remains of a medieval castle, parts of its water management system and later C17 mining activity

Summary

The standing, earthwork and buried remains of Richmont Castle, built probably towards the end of the C11. The site also includes the remains of later small-scale C17 mining which show how the site developed after the castle’s demolition in the early C16.

Reasons for Designation

The site of Richmont Castle, a medieval castle, parts of its water management system and later C17 mining activity, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Rarity: the only castle on the western Mendip Hills, occupying a strategic position possibly relating to the control of mining resources and routes;

* Survival: despite later interventions, the site survives well as ruins, earthworks and buried remains. The survival of a medieval dam provides evidence for the wider use of the site and the C17 mining remains enhance the importance of the site;

* Documentation: its association with the period of The Anarchy, when in 1138 King Stephen captured it from Sir William de Harptree, a supporter of Empress Matilda is documented. The site has also been subject to archaeological investigations which have enhanced our understanding;

* Potential: the site is considered to retain further archaeological and environmental evidence which will provide an insight into the layout and occupation of the castle and the C17 mining activity, and this will facilitate further studies about the monument's form and function.

History

The earthwork remains of Richmont Castle represent a hilltop castle that once stood on the commanding spur above East Harptree. This type of castle takes advantage of topography to improve its defensibility. An exact date for the construction of Richmont Castle is not known. There is some suggestion that the spur on which it is built may have been previously utilised as an Iron Age fort, but not enough evidence survives to confirm this.

The earthworks show that the castle was formed by banks or walls, accompanied by external ditches, and likely had one single entrance. Evidence for this access point may survive to the south-east of the site. Internally the castle was made up of an inner and outer bailey, both separated by further banks and ditches. The inner bailey would have contained the domestic buildings and the tower or donjon, while the outer bailey would have been the location for ancillary buildings such as stables, storerooms, and workshops. The remains of a tower, or donjon, survives on the north-western edge of the inner bailey, and various building platforms can be identified within the inner and outer bailey. Evidence of dams within the valleys around the site suggest that water management was taking place during the medieval period and that the landscape around the castle was likely to have been designed and managed for both defensive, and later, pleasure purposes. Little of this wider landscape character remains today, except for a dam at the base of the western valley and some field names that hint at their earlier use.

It is assumed that the castle was built towards the end of the C11 for Azelin de Perceval, who held the manor of East Harptree in 1085. It is known to have existed during the period of The Anarchy between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda when, in 1138, King Stephen captured it from Sir William de Harptree, a supporter of Empress Matilda. The history of the castle after this date is less understood, although it is likely that it remained in residential use for the de Harptree family (later known as the de Gourney family) for much of the later medieval period.

The castle was demolished by Sir John Newton in the early C16, and it is thought that the building materials were re-used for a new house. In 1540 John Leland, an English poet and antiquary, described the castle as being ‘defacid to the hard ground’. In the late C18 the local antiquary, Reverend J Collinson, confirmed that some standing remains were still visible including what he called a dungeon, possibly referring to the donjon, and a circular building. In the C19 Reverend John Skinner, a parish vicar and amateur antiquarian, visited the site and sketched the donjon in its ruinous state.

In the C17 mining took place at Richmont on a relatively small scale, most likely for calamine. An industrial activity known to have taken place across the Mendips during this period.

In the C19 the Bristol Water Company extracted water from the Mendips to solve the clean water shortages in Bristol and the works near Richmont had a considerable impact on the setting of the castle, culverting the watercourse and introducing concrete troughs and leats.

The castle is noted on the first edition Ordnance Survey Map, but no earthworks are depicted. This is repeated on later editions.

In 1983 an earthwork survey was undertaken on the castle by J R Russell. The details, published in the Bristol and Avon Archaeology Journal, identify the outline of the castle and the remains of the outer and the inner bailey. The only substantial fragment of masonry identified was a curved section of wall, nearly 3m thick on the western spur, recognised as the tower or donjon, and the rubble core of a short stretch of wall extending north from it. The castle entrance was thought to be located on the east side and a dam was noted in the western valley, but not surveyed. The dam was interpreted as being either contemporary with the castle or related to the mining activity on the site.

In 2008 the English Heritage Research Department undertook an analytical earthwork survey. This identified the castle earthworks as including the fragmentary remains of three banks and two external ditches, defining a great tower and an inner and outer bailey. At this time the possible castle entrance to the east was debunked as being too engineered and most likely a later insertion, instead a building platform to the south-east possibly represents a gatehouse. It was noted that the dismantling of the castle in the C16, alongside later stone robbing, impacted on the legibility of the remains to some extent, as have the later mining on the site. However, stretches of the course of the curtain wall remain traceable as a rubble wall and an earthwork. The survey identified the remains of a dam, breached in its centre, at the base of the deep western valley where a stream remains. This dam is dated to the medieval period and contemporary with the castle.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
Richmont Castle lies on the north-east side of the Mendip Hills close to the village of East Harptree. It is situated on a triangular spur between two steep-sided valleys overlooking the Chew valley. The castle survives as earthworks which cover an area of 1.58ha and includes the fragmentary remains of three banks and two external ditches, defining a great tower and an inner and outer bailey. The site has been overlayed by C17 mining remains.

DESCRIPTION
Richmont Castle is a hilltop castle located on a spur. At its southern end the castle earthworks are defined by a broad ditch which runs from east to west and marks the outer boundary of the castle. At the western end it is obscured by the later mining reamins. A curving double terrace probably marks the castle’s outer ward. Abutting the ditch in the southern corner is a platform measuring 5m by 10m and standing 0.5m high. Its purpose is not entirely clear, but its position would suggest it may be the site of a former outer gatehouse and access point, although later mining has disturbed this area to some extent.

To the north of the ditch is a relatively flat open area marking the outer enclosure. To the north of which is a prominent fragmentary bank and external ditch which marks the castle’s inner bailey wall, standing 2.2m high and up to 5m wide at the top, but partly overlayed by the mining remains. Beyond is the inner bailey. It has several pronounced cuttings and rakes from the mining phase, but at its southern end it is slightly lower which may mark the course of the bailey wall ditch. On the northern side of the inner bailey bank and ditch is a level rectangular platform measuring 15m by 10m, possibly representing a building platform. Further north is another bank measuring 32m long and 2.5m high with a basal width of 10m diminishing to 2m at the top. This bank seems to sub-divide the inner bailey. Further north, and as far as the scarp edge, is the remainder of the castle’s inner bailey. It is defined on the scarp edge by a break in the slope marking the course of a curtain wall. On the western side is a terraced platform with walling in the north-western segment, measuring 12m diameter and 0.8m deep. This feature was likely the site of a tower or donjon. The rubble core of the curtain walling can also be seen on the northern side of the tower extending for 13m. On the north-eastern side of the tower there is a sub-circular depression with a bank on its northern and eastern sides, probably representing another tower or building. On the eastern side of the tower is a rectilinear feature measuring 8m by 4m, probably another building.

To the west of the castle spur is a deep valley. At its base is a stream with dam to the north measuring 2.2m high with a basal width of 16m which decreases to 8m at the top. This dam has been breached in the centre. A further dam may have previously stood downstream but does not survive.

Across much of the western side of the spur and the area to the south of the castle are a series of features associated with the later mining of the site. These take the form of pits, cuts and rakes. More ephemeral earthworks are present to the south-west, which may be further mining remains, but these extend beyond the castle and are not included in the scheduling.

EXCLUSIONS
The concrete troughs and pipework culverting the watercourse are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is however included.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The area of protection aims to include the well-preserved earthworks, standing and buried remains of Richmont Castle and an associated dam, along with those features relating to the C17 calamine mining within the castle site. The more fragmentary remains of several possible dams do not survive well and lie outside the area of protection.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

BA 120

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Iles, R, Avon Archaeology in Bristol and Avon Archaeology, Vol. 3, (1984), 54-65

Other
Brown, G. Richmont Castle, East Harptree, an analytical earthwork survey. English Heritage Report No. 73-2008 (2008).

End of official list entry

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