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were superseded by other types of castle.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 is Castle Hill motte, Newton. The motte is situated on a
commanding site at the northeast corner of an elevated platform within the
elbow formed by the deep-cut valley of the River Dene - latterly dammed to
form Newton Lake. The monument includes a slightly oval mound of sandy earth
raised upon largely bare sandstone bedrock. The motte measures c.5m high and
has diameters of 32m at the base and 13m across the summit. There are faint
traces of an encircling ditch some 10m wide with a maximum depth of 0.2m on
the motte's southwest side. All traces of the associated bailey have been
obscured by massive earthmoving operations undertaken during construction of
the nearby motorway.
Limited excavation of the motte was undertaken in 1843. An opening 1.2m
square was made on the western side of the mound at the level of the original
ground surface. This was driven forward horizontally towards the centre of
the motte until it met a shaft 1.8m diameter that was sunk at the same time
from the top of the mound. From this point a tunnel 0.9m square was driven
horizontally along the original ground surface into the south side of the
motte. At a distance of some 3m from the centre of the motte a narrow chamber
6.4m long and 0.6m high, possessing an arched roof made of pressed clay, was
found. Within this chamber lay wood ash and burnt bone.
Newton was the seat of a medieval barony, while documentary evidence from the
15th century refers to Castle Hill Field.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
13503
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
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
