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-bailey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and the centre 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 or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples
known from most regions. As such, and 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which they were superseded by other types of castle.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 earthworks and interior area of a motte and bailey
castle believed to date from the immediate post-Conquest period, soon after
October 1066.
On the south side of the monument is a circular mound - the motte - 30m in
diameter and 2m above the general ground level at its crest. The centre of
the motte is scarred by a depression resulting from mistaken barrow-digging
in the 19th century, but much of the motte survives intact. It is completely
surrounded by a ditch some 6m wide and still nearly 1m deep, and beyond the
ditch around the southern half is a low bank 0.6m high which has been
truncated slightly by ploughing on the southern extremity.
A horseshoe-shaped ditch joins onto the motte ditch on the north-west and
north-east corners. This ditch, again some 6m wide but deeper than the motte
ditch - it survives to a depth of 1.5-1.8m, defines the bailey area. On the
inner edge is a strong earthen bank up to 1.2m above the interior level and
therefore up to 3m above the bottom of the ditch. This bank, in places 14m
across, is breached to both east and west, and the ditch is correspondingly
causewayed, to allow entry into the bailey. On the outer edge is a second
bank, this one slighter and diminishing to nothing around the northern side
where additional defence is made unnecessary by the steep slope.
The low bank which extends southward from the eastern edge of the monument
is a later land division and is not included in the scheduling.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12860
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
