More information : (SE 25459707) Castle Hills (NR)
(Supposed site of Norman Castle) (1)
Well preserved bailey one of acre in area; motte much damaged. (2)
A motte and bailey which now falls on an RAF airfield. Although used as a crashed aircraft park, and as a battle-training ground, it is still largely intact. Average height of motte is 3.5m, and its circumscribing ditch attains a maximum depth of 1.6m. The east side of the bailey is formed by steep natural slopes of the Swale floodplain, supplemented by the remains of a bank 1.3m high along part of its length. South and west sides, being the most vunerable, are defended by a strong bank and ditch, the bank probably originally about 2.5m to 3m high. The south side, however, has been greatly spread to give access to the bailey, and both the SW and SE angles have been raised and distorted by the intrusion of concrete gun emplacements.
Published survey (25") revised. (3)
Roman remains were found in an excavation at Castle Hills where "the south rampart appears to have been thrown down to fill in the ditch, where the entrance probably was". The remains are in the British Museum. (4)
SE 255 971. Castle Hills. Scheduled No NY/299. (5)
Listed by Cathcart King. (6)
SE 25469706. It is thought that the castle was probably built 1120-25 but it may have been remodelled from a pre-Conquest defensive site. In 1940-1 the site was modified to provide RAF Catterick with defence against attack from low flying aircraft and ground assault by troops. The site can be roughly divided into three parts; an outer ward to the south, the bailey at the centre and the motte to the north east. The outer ward comprises a south facing enclosure defined by the former river cliff to the east and by embanked hedge lines to the south and west. A group of platforms along the southern side represent the remains of buildings associated with RAF Catterick. The bailey is roughly triangular in plan, with traces of a raised rampart around its edge, the corners rising higher as definite mounds. It would have contained the castle's great hall, kitchens and various other important buildings. The three corner mounds were modified between 1940-1 (SE 29 NE 15). The motte, which measures around 50-60 metres in diameter at its base and about 10-15 metres at its summit, is surrounded by a broad moat. It would originally have been surmounted by a timber tower or fortified enclosure. Scheduled. (7)
The motte and bailey are visible on air photograph. Also visible are a possible outwork or enclosure on the south side of the bailey, which appears to contain ridge and furrow. (8)
There is an early oblique photograph of this site which shows its condition before the Second World Ear modification were made. (9) |