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were superseded by other types of castle.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 Dorstone is a well preserved example of this class of
monument, and the unusual arrangement of the two baileys increases interest in
the site. The motte mound will retain details of its method of construction,
including post holes for revetments and palisades, and for the tower which
surmounted it. Evidence for structures such as a bridge will be preserved in
the ditch deposits, which will also retain environmental evidence for the
activities which took place at and around the castle during its construction
and subsequent use. The ground surface sealed beneath the motte will retain
evidence for land use immediately prior to the castle's construction. Within
the baileys, evidence for buildings and other structures will survive as
buried features, and artefactual and environmental evidence for activities
taking place within the enclosure will also survive in post holes and storage
or refuse pits. Around the top of the bailey enclosure, evidence for its
timber defences, including gateways, will survive in the form of post holes.
Guarding the Golden Valley route into Wales, Dorstone Castle is one of a
concentration of early castles in the Marches, and forms part of the wider
picture of the medieval defences of the county. When viewed in association
with other examples it contributes to our understanding of the political and
social organisation of medieval Herefordshire. The castle is a prominent local
landmark, clearly visible from the road, and has public access along the
footpath which passes immediately to the south.
Details
The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey
castle situated on floodplain near the head of the Golden Valley. It sits on
the south bank of the Pant-y-Weston Brook, near its confluence with the
headwaters of the River Dore. The remains include a substantial motte mound
whose surrounding ditch was originally filled with water diverted from the
brook. Two baileys adjoin the motte, one roughly kidney shaped enclosure
extending north eastwards, and the other extending to the south west.
The earthen motte mound has a roughly oval plan with a maximum diameter of 60m
at the base. The motte is steep sided and rises up to 10m above the bottom of
the surrounding ditch, to a flat top with a diameter of 32m-38m. Material for
the construction of the mound will have been quarried from the ditch which
averages 12m wide and survives in some areas to a depth of 3.5m. The ditch,
now dry, is almost completely infilled in the north west quarter, north west
of which the ground level drops away to the brook. A low earthen bank roughly
4m wide flanks the ditch in this area. The markedly squared north east end of
this bank probably housed a sluice which regulated the water level in the
ditch, although evidence for this feature only survives below ground. In the
north east quarter the ditch narrows to c.6m, and is crossed by a causeway
from which a broad curved path has been terraced into the side of the mound,
representing the original access to the motte. There is a slight external or
counterscarp bank around the south west edge of the ditch. There are now no
surface indications of the tower which would have surmounted the motte, and
the absence of stone at the site suggests it was of timber construction. Some
stone, however, is visible amongst tree roots below the summit of the motte,
which may therefore have been revetted with a stone rubble wall.
The north eastern bailey is an artificially levelled platform, raised up to
1.3m above the surrounding ground level, and measuring c.65m south west-north
east by c.80m south east-north west. The north west and north east sides of
the bailey are clearly defined, however to the east the construction of a
barn, and more recently public lavatories and associated sewerage, has cut
away sections of the platform. The bailey extends south eastwards to the
adjacent property boundary, beyond which it has been modified by modern
landscaping. The remains of its southern edge can be seen as a low scarp
running westwards from the property boundary to the east edge of the motte
ditch.
The south western bailey is also a level platform, the edge of which can be
seen extending westwards from the motte ditch. Its straight western edge is
defined by a ditch up to 6m wide, the northern end of which opens out into a
marshy area close to the brook. This ditch has been reused as a post-medieval
field boundary, and has become infilled to the south. The southern edge of the
bailey platform can be seen as a low scarp running eastwards into the adjacent
field boundary, beyond which it is not visible as a surface feature. Further
north east a low scarp running west from the property boundary towards the
east side of the motte ditch marks the north eastern extent of the south
western bailey, running parallel to and roughly 12m south of the southern edge
of the north eastern bailey. There is no evidence that the baileys were ever
defined by a stone curtain wall; their edges will have been enhanced by timber
palisades.
Dorstone Castle is believed to have been founded by De Brito, one of the
murderers of Thomas a Beckett, and was later the main holding of the Solers
family. At Domesday Dorstone, then known as Tordestone, was one of three
holdings granted to Thurston de Solers by Bernard de Newmarch, conqueror of
Brecknockshire, and although not specifically mentioned in the survey it is
likely that the motte and bailey was already in existence. The castle guards
the vulnerable valley route into Wales, and is one of a chain of medieval
sites defending the Golden Valley, its nearest neighbour being the castle at
Snodhill some 1.5km to the south west (the subject of a separate scheduling,
SM27509). The monument is clearly visible from the road and a footpath passes
immediately to the south, public access being via the gate next to the barn
(outside the scheduled area).
All fences are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath them is
included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
