Monument Type(s):

• FISHPOND? (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• MOTTE AND BAILEY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• RINGWORK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument: A well-preserved medieval motte and bailey (earthwork) castle which incorporates the remains of an earlier medieval ringwork (an earthwork fortification) and is closely associated with a deserted medieval village.

Related records

Associated Finds

• FSA221 - SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Associated Events

• ESA1744 - Undated excavation
• ESA1745 - 1950s excavation
• ESA1746 - 1953 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA1747 - 1973 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA1748 - 1984 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA5794 - 1999 site visit by English Heritage MPP Fieldworker
• ESA7514 - 2015 DBA of four castle sites in the Welsh Marches, part of the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme by SCAS and CPAT

Description

Motte 2.5m high with a flat top 20m in diameter is surrounded by a wide ditch with an outer bank, 0.4m high, on the W and N. No traces of masonry were seen on the motte. To the east there is an inner bailey, much mutilated on the S side within which the possible site of a building was noted at SO 3399 9140 with a possible fishpond to the N of it. To the E again a broad hollow way (PRN 28593) cuts through a second bailey which is defined by scarp slopes and traces of a bank at the N and SW corners. The hollow way leads on for a further 200m to join the present road NW of the church. The possible third bailey has no S side where it abuts onto the marshy ground. It could represent an area of settlement within the medieval village (see PRN 1223) but no house platforms are visible. OS FI 1973 <1>

Motte 10ft high with 2 rectangular baileys and remains of a possible third. The castle is surrounded by marsh, into which some of the defences have sunk <1a>
Excavations by B Hope Taylor revealed some form of ring work predating the motte and at least one substantial stone building in the inner bailey. Dateable pottery was found <1b><9b>
Turf covered masonry at west end of mound <1c>

Possibly the moretoin of 1215 <9a>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1: Medium score as one of 46 Motte and Bailey castles; Medium score as one of 52 Fishponds <20>

Scheduling revised in 2001 to include larger area. Relevant parts of the Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey castle, partly formed from an earlier ringwork castle, the associated remains of a medieval village (PRN 01223) and ridge and furrow cultivation (PRN 28591), situated on a tongue of land which extends into a lower lying former marshy area from the slightly higher ground to the east. At the western end of this peninsula is the site of the castle. It lies 600m north east of the motte and bailey castle at Lydham [PRN 01225], which is the subject of a separate scheduling. ->

-> Documentary evidence indicates that More originally lay within the manor of Lydham, and that in the 12th century, probably during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), it became a separate manor. During Henry's reign it is also recorded that the Lord of More, a constable of the king's army, was required to command 200 foot soldiers, while carrying the royal standard, whenever the king crossed into Wales in time of war. A document of 1215 mentions a castle at Moretoin, which is thought to refer to the castle at More, and in 1368 a licence was granted to Hugh Cheney allowing him to celebrate Mass in the oratory (private chapel) at his mansion house here. ->

-> A small-scale archaeological excavation undertaken in 1959 demonstrated that the castle was initially a ringwork, a circular area occupied by buildings, surrounded by a bank and an external ditch, probably constructed in the late 11th century. A little later, probably early in the 12th century, the enclosed circular area was filled in and heightened to form the motte. This flat-topped mound measures approximately 34m at its base and 21m across the top, and stands up to 2.1m high. It is surrounded by a shallow ditch about 8m wide, which is wet in places, and by an external bank up to 7m wide and 0.6m high. Access onto the motte is via a 5m wide causeway, which crosses the south eastern part of the ditch. ->

-> To the north east of the motte, running the length of the peninsula, lie a succession of banked and ditched enclosures. The two principal rectangular enclosures nearest the motte are the inner and outer baileys to the castle. The internal area of inner bailey (the one closest to the motte) is approximately 0.4ha and the internal area of outer bailey is about 0.6ha. The ditches which define the baileys are partially waterlogged, while in other places they have been largely infilled. Material excavated from the ditches was used to create internal banks, which survive most notably as earthworks at the south western and north eastern parts of the outer bailey. ->

-> The ditch separating the baileys was bridged by a causeway, about 7m wide. Within the inner bailey, levelled and raised areas indicate the positions of former buildings, partly cut by later drainage ditches. Blocks of stone from demolished and collapsed buildings lie embedded in the ground. In 1959 the remains of at least one substantial stone-built structure was uncovered, together with sherds of pottery. ->

-> To the north east of the causeway, which crosses the ditch between the two baileys, are the remains of a former access road to the castle (PRN 28593). It crosses the outer bailey and continues as a hollow way firstly in a north easterly direction and then in a northerly direction for about 220m where it joins the modern road. The hollow way was created by the volume of the passing traffic, and is defined by earthen banks between 3m and 5m wide and up to 0.4m high. Part of the south eastern side of the hollow way has been cut by a later drainage ditch. The bank that delimits this side of the hollow way also defines one edge of a sub-rectangular enclosure (see PRN 01223), approximately 0.6ha internally, which lies immediately north east of the outer bailey. This enclosure was a toft forming part of the medieval village of More. A toft contained a series of crofts (peasant houses with yards and gardens) and associated paddocks … ->

- >All fence and gate posts, animal feed containers and utility poles are excluded from then scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included <21>

A supposed fishpond recorded by the Ordnance Survey is in fact the northern ditch to the inner bailey of the motte and bailey castle <24>

Oblique aerial photograph reference number - NMR SO3491/51-2 (CPT 16309/0710-11) 14-JUN-1995: The Medieval motte and bailey and hollow way were seen as earthworks and mapped from aerial photographs during the Marches Uplands Mapping Project. Ridge and furrow earthworks are visible on the second and third baileys, to either side of the hollow way at SO 3409 9148, SO 3413 916 and SO 3402 9143 (see PRN 28591). A small complex of up to 5 small enclosures, 12-15m across, are visible at SO 3399 9141 on the south side of the inner bailey, they are considered to be Medieval settlement features. (Morph No. MU.410.10). <25>

Photographed from the air by Chris Musson in 1984. <26>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2008-2013. <27>-<33>

A programme of desk-based research, limited survey and a condition survey were undertaken of the motte and bailey castle at More in 2015, as part of the 'Helping Hillforts and Earthwork Castles' project undertaken by the Stiperstones and Corndon Hill Country Landscape Partnership Scheme. ->

-> This outlines the historical development of the castle and the surrounding demesne. The castle began, probably in the late 11th century, as a ringwork, a circular area occupied by buildings, and surrounded by a bank and external ditch, The ringwork was subsequently in-filled, probably early in the 12th century, and a low motte 34m in diameter was raised to a height of about 2.1m. The motte is surrounded by a shallow ditch about 8m wide and an external bank up to 7m wide and 0.6m high. To the northeast of the motte lies a succession of banked and ditched enclosures. Two rectangular enclosures nearest the motte form the inner and outer baileys to the castle. When in use, a timber tower is likely to have stood on the top of the motte. Domestic buildings and stables would have been located within the baileys. ->

-> A plan was produced from Ordnance Survey mapping, LiDAR imagery and recent aerial photography. Includes a brief condition report on the monument, from May 2015. <34>

Photographed during aerial survey in 2018 and in 2021. <35><36>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.