More information : [TL 9045 3255] Mount [G.T.] (1)
"Mount Bures. Fortified mount, N. of the church, is about 35 ft. high and 200 ft. diameter at the base. Round the mount is a ditch, now nearly dry. There are no definite traces of outer works, but the Norman church stands immediately S. of the mount and perhaps originally stood within the Bailey.
The work is situated on high ground, which drops sharply towards a stream to the W; on the slope is a nearly rectangular area scarped on three sides, with an oblong depression near the W. side. This is probably the site of a terraced garden belonging to the Hall. [See plan: AO:60:118:1]
Condition - Fairly good. The summit of the mount is uneven and appears to have been opened by digging." (2)
"I have been disposed to think that Mount Bures may have been the castle of the Sackvilles, raised perhaps in the anarchy under Stephen [1135-1154] or possibly under Henry I." [1100-1135] (3)
A motte in good condition; with ditch and outer bank much mutilated and generally in poor condition. The whole is overgrown with trees and shrubs.
The west side of the probable bailey can be traced along the fence of the graveyard.
The nearby rectangular area described by Authority 2 was possibly some form of outwork; the depression appears to be the site of a building of later date. (4)
Excavations southwest of the motte to examine the possible bailey in 1969 were inconclusive. Parallel ditches and part of a third were found, thought to represent palisade trenches. Further excavations in 1972 to the north of the motte, at TL 90483262 revealed similar trenches at right angles. 12th/13th century pottery was found on both sites. See plan. (5-6)
TL 905327. Castle mound N. of St John's Church. Scheduled 127. (7)
Contour survey of the motte. (8) |