Sherrington Castle mound: motte castle east of Sherrington Manor

Reasons for Designation

Motte 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-bai1ey 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 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 and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from most regions. Some 100-150 examples do not have baileys and are classified as motte castles. 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of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other types of castle.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 Sherrington Castle mound survives well and has potential for the recovery of both archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the landscape at the time the site was occupied.

Details

The monument includes a motte castle with surrounding moat set on level ground in the valley of the River Wylye. The motte is 48m across and rises 5.5m above ground level. It has a level top 28m across with traces of a perimeter bank. A ditch, from which material was quarried during construction of the monument, surrounds the motte. This survives as a waterfilled moat to the south, east and north of the mound but is dry to the west. It varies in width between 5m and 25m and is between 2 and 3m deep except to the west where it survives as a buried feature. The site is believed to have been a castle belonging to the Gifford family.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

12321

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Mrs Miller, (1990)

End of official list entry

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