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Designations

• Scheduled Monument 1013064: MEDIEVAL RINGWORK AT CLAY HILL
• SHINE: East Of Clayhill House: Brick kiln

Summary

A late Saxon to early Norman Ringwork castle, comprising the remains of a Motte and possible bailey.

Monument Types

• ENCLOSURE (Saxon - 410 AD to 1065 AD)
• RINGWORK (Saxon - 410 AD to 1065 AD)
• MOTTE (Late Saxon to Medieval - 851 AD to 1539 AD)
• ENCLOSURE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• RINGWORK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

(TQ 44901433) Castle Mount (LB) [1]
Clay Hill Mount: A small enclosure with trees. The horseshoe-shaped crest is caused by the depressed centre and eastern entrance. Though continuous all round, the outer edge of the ditch is not well defined on the N side. A slight excavation of the surface soil over part of the depressed centre yielded one or two sherds of Norman or medieval pottery. A trench was also cut into the middle of the S side of the entrance. It produced no finds, but showed the mound is nearly entirely composed of stiff clay obtained from the surrounding ditch. A pronounced bank with ditch on the S side runs in a W direction from the E hedge halfway across the centre of the field. It is possible that it formed part of an outer bailey. Mound some 40 m in diameter and 2-3 m in height surrounded by a ditch (except on its N side where the ditch may have been destroyedby ploughing) and the remains of a bank 7.5 m across and 0.9 m in height. The mound has the appearance of a castle motte, though its position is not a favourable one for defence. There is a considerable scatter of flint in the ploughed field S of the mound at the point TQ 44921427. There are slight traces of possible `entrance' to the mound on the E side. [2-3]
Ringwork castle. Rather rectangular in plan. [4-5]
The mutilated remains of a motte, overgrown with trees and scrub, and situated on a gentle N-facing slope. It measures c 40.0m in diameter and c 3.0m high above outside ground level, surrounded by a ditch, 7.0m across and about 1.5m deep, save on the N side where it is ploughed out. The ditch has been re-cut recently for drainage purposes. The summit is pock-marked by excavation trenches, wartime digging etc, giving the false impression of a bank around the S arc, and leading to the erroneous classification as a ringwork by King and Alcock. The alleged E entrance is probably a result of mutilations. Only about 9.0 m of the bank to the S of the motte remains, the rest having been ploughed out, so it cannot be determined whether this was a bailey. The farmer has not noticed unusual soil marks or crop growth, and no finds are known to have been made. The motte is known locally by the OS descriptive name "Castle Mound". Resurveyed at 1:2500. [6]
Excavations carried out in c.1998-2002 by Sussex Archaeological Society (forthcoming). Ten trial trenches excavated in 2007 by ASE in the field to the north of the motte. These recorded a number of features comprising pits and post holes dating to the late 12th to 13th centuries [7]
A survey carried out in 1996 showed that rural sites in East Sussex continued to be damaged or destroyed at the same rate as 1976. The most vulnerable individual sites and site groups were identified and remedial action was suggested. [8]
The earthwork east of Clay Hill is a ringwork dating to the late Anglo- Saxon/early Norman period. The monument includes a ditch of varying depth and up to 7m across, the earth from which was used to create a mound some 2.5m high and 40m in diameter. The top of the mound was strengthened further by a 1.5m high bank around its edge, and in all likelihood by a wooden palisade. The small area within the bank provided the site for buildings and perhaps a watchtower. Access was gained through an entrance on the eastern side, represented by a 7m gap in the bank, beyond which the remains of a wooden bridge can be expected to survive. Small-scale excavations at the site in 1922 recovered Norman or early medieval pottery. A plan completed at the same time shows that the bank on the top of the mound was formerly continuous apart from at the entrance. It also demonstrates the existence of the ditch around the northern side of the mound. Wartime emplacements and more recent ploughing have partially obscured these features. [9]
A programme of evaluation trenches, fieldwalking and resitivity was carried out in 1998 by the Sussex Archaeological Society. Trench A of the excavated provided a better understanding of the original ditch cut during the construction of the mound. No dateable artefacts were recorded. Trench C, excavated north-west of the mound revealed a number of Medieval deposits directly below the ploughsoil. Medieval pottery was recorded in voids found within a chalk spread, these were also found alongside Roman combed tile and a Medieval chimney pot. The pottery found had a date range of 1050-1250 AD. A closer date range of 1066-1170 is suggested in corroboration with the recovered metalwork. Medieval floor tiles were also recorded, although these featured no decoration. The metalwork found included a pie-crust horse shoe and fiddle-key nails. The report suggests an alternative origin for the mound, suggesting its origins lie as a hunting lodge for the Archbishop of Canterbury. [10]

Sources

Associated Events

• Plashett Park Farm, Clay Hill, Ringmer: Evaluation (Ref: ASE no. 2803)
• Field east of Clayhill House, Clayhill,: Geophysical Survey
• Field east of Clayhill House, Clayhill : Evaluation
• Field observation on TQ 41 SW 5
• CASTLE MOUNT, CLAY HILL (Ref: EI 348)
• The East Sussex Plough Damage Survey 1995-1996 : Survey
• Clay Hill Reservoir, Ringmer : Desk Based Assessment

Associated Monuments - none recorded

Associated Finds

• SHERD (AD 11th Century to AD 13th Century - 1050 AD to 1250 AD)
• FLOOR TILE (AD 12th Century - 1100 AD to 1199 AD)
• HORSESHOE (AD 12th Century - 1100 AD to 1199 AD)
• NAIL (AD 12th Century - 1100 AD to 1199 AD)
• CHIMNEY POT (AD 13th Century - 1200 AD to 1299 AD)

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