Reasons for Designation
Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain
by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the
motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte and
bailey castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their
immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive
monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape.
Over 600 motte castles or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally,
with examples known from most regions. As one of a restricted range of
recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for
the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although
many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to
be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they
were superseded by other types of castle.
The motte and bailey at Whorlton is unusual in that it continued in use
throughout the medieval period. The Norman defences were later remodelled in
stone with the construction of a 14th century tower house, a form of defended
aristocratic residence common to the north of England which evolved in
response to the war-like conditions that prevailed in the region during the
Middle Ages. The monument additionally includes earthworks relating to the
later medieval imparkment of the estate, illustrating that despite troubled
times some degree of wealth and security was still enjoyed by the
aristocracy: the late medieval gardens are a rare and unusual survival in
northern England and include remains of a complex water-management system
created for the supply of large ponds. Further associations with the well-
preserved remains of the medieval village, field system and 12th century
church help to provide a wider view of rural life in Yorkshire during the
whole of the medieval period.
The different elements of the monument are clearly visible as well preserved
earthworks, while the tower house and church survive as ruins upstanding to
full height in places. Archaeological remains will include below-ground
foundations of buildings, features relating to medieval agricultural and
horticultural practices, environmental evidence preserved in accumulated silt
in various ponds and burials associated with the medieval churchyard.
Details
The monument includes two groups of features; those relating to the medieval
castle with its landscaped vista and those associated with the medieval
village of Whorlton. The Norman motte and bailey, altered by the addition of a
stone-built tower house, is situated at the top of Castle bank, while a series
of garden earthworks, ponds and park pale occupy the slopes to the east of the
castle; much of the land surrounding the castle had been cultivated during the
medieval period and large areas of ridge and furrow are still visible. The
remains of the village lie to the south, on Howe Hill, and represent an
expansion of the settlement westwards from Whorlton Lane, along an old road to
Swainby. Also included in the monument are the ruined parts of the Holy Cross
Church, which has Norman origins.
The motte is a flat-topped mound, squarish in plan and measuring 60m by 50m
across, which is partly surrounded by a ditch up to 20m wide by 5m deep with a
2.5m high outer bank. Some of the cellars may date to the Norman period but
most of the masonry, including the gatehouse tower, belongs to the 14th
century tower house built on the site. To the south and east of the motte a
relatively level platform, bounded by a steep 2m-3m high scarp with a 1m deep
ditch at its foot, forms the outer court or bailey. A modern farm building in
the northern half of the bailey is excluded from the scheduling although the
ground beneath it is included. A dried-up pond in the south east corner of the
bailey is a later addition and is probably associated with the later garden
landscaping; it drained into a second pond at a lower level outside the bailey
which drained in turn, to a now boggy area beside the stream which flows west
from Whorlton village. Immediately to the east of the bailey, the modern
road is flanked by two roughly symmetrical rectangular enclosures, each
40m by 20m across bounded by 1m high banks; these were laid out as ornamental
gardens, at the end of the medieval period. A sharply defined rectangular
pond, 190m long by 20m wide and up to 3m deep, lies along the eastern side of
the garden enclosures and is divided into two unequal parts by the modern
road. This pond is one of the latest features to have been constructed when
the castle grounds were landscaped. To the south of and east of the castle, a
number of earthworks are visible which relate to the imparkment of the estate
which was begun in the 13th century. A boundary feature or park pale runs from
the northern end of the rectangular pond north eastwards for 340m where it
meets a stream in a deep gully; it comprises a double bank with a ditch
between and, although altered by agriculture, earthworks are still up to 0.5m
high in places. Between the park pale and the modern road are a series of low
parallel ridges and furrows which show that this area was once under arable
cultivation but, apart from an area of ridge and furrow to the north of the
rectangular pond, there is no evidence of medieval earthworks beyond the park
pale. The road once ran slightly north of its present route and its original
edge is indicated by a slight bank. Boundary features and cultivation
earthworks are also visible in the graveyard of Holy Cross Church and in the
land between the church and the village.
The Church of the Holy Cross dates to the 12th century and, although only the
14th century chancel is in use, the original arcades of the ruined nave are
still standing. The graveyard, now largely disused, will have been in use
from the medieval period.
The remains of the medieval village lie beside a hollow way which runs along
the brow of Howe Hill, south west towards Swainby. The line of hollow way is
visible as a parallel series of narrow linear terraces and south of this are
the rectangular platforms of house plots or yards. Ridge and furrow earthworks
are also apparent to the south of the village.
At Domesday, Whorlton was recorded as belonging to the Manor of Hutton Rudby
then held by Robert, Earl of Mortain. Accounts from the 13th century name the
stronghold variously as `Potto' and `Hwernelton' castle and from the 12th to
the 16th century, Whorlton remained under the control of de Meynell family and
it was they who created Whorlton Park. The layout of the park and the village
of Whorlton was recorded in detail on a map of 1628. Finds of Roman artefacts
have been made close to the church, suggesting that the settlement may have
had much earlier origins.
The chancel of Holy Cross Church, which is in use for worship, is excluded
from the scheduling although the ground beneath it and the standing structure
of the nave and tower are included. A modern stone-built barn at the north
eastern end of the village is excluded from the scheduling and all fences and
the metalled surfaces of roads are excluded from the scheduling although the
ground beneath them is included. An area of the churchyard to the west of the
church which remains in active use for burial is totally excluded from the
scheduling.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
