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were superseded by other types of castle.
Details
The monument includes the motte and two baileys of Annesley motte and bailey
castle. The motte is on the south side of the monument and built on the edge
of a deep gully so that, although from the north it stands only some 3m high,
on the south side it drops sharply to the bottom of the gully c.30m below. It
is a roughly circular mound with an average diameter of 42m. A palisade would
have enclosed the top and wooden buildings would have occupied the interior.
At a number of examples of this class of monument, the palisade was replaced
by a stone shell keep in the later Middle Ages, but there is as yet no
evidence that this occurred at Annesley. On the south side, the motte relied
largely on the steep natural slope for defence and is unusual in that there is
no trace of a ditch around it. On the north side it was protected by the
bailey which comprises a sub-rectangular area measuring c.120m from east to
west by c.150m from north to south. There is no trace of a rampart round the
edge of the bailey which is instead demarcated by the natural slope and would
also have been enclosed by a palisade. Outside the palisade, the slope has
been scarped to create a 10m wide berm or terrace which can be traced most
clearly on the south-west side and the north-east corner of the monument. The
entire enclosure was divided in two so that there were, in effect, two baileys
which would have had different functions and would have contained a variety of
ancillary features including domestic and garrison buildings and corrals for
stock and horses. The line of this division can be traced from the west side
of the monument where a 1.5m high bank extends for c.50m and ends
approximately midway across the bailey. It is not yet clear whether the fence
or wall that surmounted this bank then continued in a straight line to the
east side of the bailey or whether it turned at right-angles towards the
motte. The latter is more likely because a second bank, roughly parallel with
the first and starting on a line with its east end, can be seen running
eastward from near the foot of the motte to join the east side of the bailey.
Although much lower than the first, this bank is of a similar width, being
c.5m wide, and would also have been surmounted by a wall or palisade. This
palisade would have connected the two banks across the gap between them,
creating a small highly defensible inner bailey in the south-west quadrant of
the monument. It is not known precisely when the castle was built, as a
reference to the construction of a house in Sherwood Forest by Regnald de
Annesley in 1220 may alternatively refer to the Norman hall half a mile north-
west of the castle and incorporated into the present Annesley Hall. That the
castle was built to control the forest is almost certain, and it would have
commanded any road through the forest on the line of the current Annesley
Road. There is also evidence to suggest that it was held by Philip Mark, who
is believed to have been the inspiration for the Sheriff of Nottingham of the
Robin Hood legends.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
13399
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
