| Summary : A medieval Motte and Bailey castle which has been altered by the building of a later medieval manor house in the north east corner of the bailey and also by the creation of small enclosures, a hollow way and a pond beside the motte. The motte is 40 metres in diameter at the base and about 2 metres high. A slight 8 metre wide ditch surrounds the mound and there is a hollow area at the top which marks the site of the tower which was originally located here. The Manor House, formerly the residence of the Hungate family, was demolished in the early 19th century but its foundations survive immediately to the south of Manor Farm. Scheduled.The Medieval motte and bailey, and Medieval/post Medieval ditch, bank and a pond, are visible as earthworks on air photographs. |
More information : [SE 47743676] Hall [GT] (site of) [T.I.]
Centred at [SE 47703670] Earthworks [G.T.]. (1)
Saxton. The old manor house, formerly the seat of the Hungate Family, was pulled down early in the 19th century. (2)
The earthworks have been resurveyed at 1/2500. They comprise a single bank and ditch, forming three sides of a square enclosure with the site of the Hall in the N.E. corner. Its purpose was probably that of a cattle fold or enclosure. The whole area is now under pasture. Such enclosures, in varying forms and associated with manor houses, are a common feature of the West Riding (c.f. Swindon Hall SE 34 NW 2)
A mound, at SE 47653672, within the enclosure, appears to be a natural hillock accentuated on the east side by upcast from an adjacent pond. A slight circular bank and depression on the summit, and terracing of the sides, however, is suggestive of a windmill mound. A similar mound, on which stands a now disused windmill, exists at SE 432433. (3)
Condition unchanged. (4)
The mound at SE 47653672 and, presumably, the surrounding earthworks are scheduled by the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments under the description of a motte and bailey castle. No other documentary evidence to support this statement has been found. A soke-mill at Saxton was mentioned in 1207-8. (5-6)
SE 4770 3669. Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond. Scheduled RSM No 20518.
The monument includes a motte and bailey castle which has been altered by the building of a later medieval manor house in the NE corner of the bailey and also by the creation of small enclosures, a trackway and a pond beside the motte. The monument is situated on gently sloping land which falls to the W. The motte is an earthen mound, 40m in diameter at the base and about 2m high. A slight 8m wide ditch surrounds the mound and there is a hollow area at the top which marks the site of the tower which was originally located there. The motte lies in the NW quarter of a rectangular bailey which measures 180m E-W by 150m N-S. Although the ramparts have been largely altered by their incorporation into later land boundaries, the E side is still visible as a slight bank 20m wide and about 0.5m high running from Fircroft to Manor Farm, while to the W the limits of the bailey are respected by the line of Main Street and to the N and S by the curtilage of adjacent properties. A bank and ditch which runs just inside the E rampart bank is thought to be a field boundary earthwork associated with the later medieval manor house.
The manor house, formerly the residence of the Hungate family, was demolished in the early 19th century but its foundations survive immediately to the S of Manor Farm. A hollow way, a disused trackway leading to the manor house, runs diagonally across the bailey of the castle at a tangent to the motte; small-scale quarrying has altered the appearance of the trackway adjacent to the motte. W of the motte and trackway are slight earthworks including linear banks and scarps which form at least three small rectangular enclosures, each about 20m across, which are the remains of gardens or house-plots. These were associated either with the manor house or the medieval village which would have lain close by. An irregularly shaped pond lies to the S of the motte. The pond post-dates the trackway and the small enclosures and was probably constructed to collect rainwater run-off from the field. (7)
Listed by Cathcart king. (8)
The Medieval motte and bailey, and Medieval/post Medieval ditch, bank and a pond, are visible as earthworks on air photographs. They are centred at SE 4771 3669.
The motte (SE 4764 3671) measures c.30m in diameter with a central depression as described by authority 3. The bailey lies 111m to the east and is formed by a low bank that appears to be surmounted by two parallel ditches. Directly south-east of the motte there is a pond. In the north-east of the site (just inside the bailey boundary there is what appear to be the ditched remains of the Manor House (authority 7). The bailey is divided into two enclosures by later ditch and bank. There are various other banks and ditches within the bailey that may be understood as paths or trackways. A further ditch (lying parallel) 42m outside the bailey is also visible, but it is not certain to be contemporary and may be later.
(9) |