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Monument Types

• MOTTE AND BAILEY (Saxo Norman, Late Anglo Saxon to Late Medieval - 850 AD to 1539 AD)

Summary

One of the best examples of a motte and bailey castle in Leicestershire, comprising a large conical motte and a horseshoe shaped bailey with possible entrance. To the north is a rectangular platform and to the south a bank and ditch (possibly to drain the motte ditch).

Additional Information

<1> Historic England, National Heritage List for England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1010487 (Website). SLE7874.

Scheduled Monument description extract:
"Hallaton Castle is the finest example of its type in Leicestershire. Although partly excavated, the monument survives in exceptionally good condition and will retain important environmental and archaeological evidence of the Early Norman period.
DETAILS:
Hallaton Castle is situated in a prominent position on high ground which falls away on the north-east and is 0.5km west of the village of Hallaton. The main elements of the monument are a ditched motte, and an adjoining bailey enclosure to the north-west side. The conical motte is approximately 50m in diameter and 7.5m high from the bottom of the ditch, with a small flat area at the summit only a few metres across. The encircling motte ditch is up to 3m deep and 8m wide, with causeways on the south-west and south-eastern sides and a break in the ditch where the bailey joins it on the south side. The horseshoe shaped bailey encloses an area of about 60 x 30m, and is bounded by a ditch up to 2m deep and 5m wide and an inner bank up to 2m high. A break in both the ditch and bank on the north-west side indicates the position of the entrance. An additional rectangular enclosure on the north side of the motte, measuring 35 x 25m, is defined by a ditch which survives in places to a depth of 0.75m. On the south side of the motte there is a further ditch 5m wide with a bank 8m wide and 0.75m high which projects south for 40m. A series of depressions on the summit of the motte are the result of 19th century excavations when bone, pottery, leather shoes, iron articles and wooden bowls were,found. Evidence was found of iron-working in the bailey and further small scale excavations in the bailey in 1943 produced `Norman' pottery. It seems likely that the castle formed the administrative centre of an estate owned by Geoffrey Alselin and which is described in the Domesday Book. The earthworks depicted on the 1:10000 map to the immediate east of the monument are natural features."
Scheduled 26/06/1924, most recent amendment 20/02/1992.

<2> Page, William (ed), 1907, The Victoria County History of the County of Leicester, Volume 1, p212, p259-60 (Bibliographic reference). SLE1156.

Large conical mount 630ft in circumference at the base, 118ft diameter at the top, with a slight saucer-shaped depression and an escarpment of 38ft. Cinctured by a fosse with a counterscarp of 12ft, partially bounded by an agger which varies in width. The base-court is on the north-west, with an entrance on the north-west. There is a smaller, rectangular, second court on the north-east.

<3> Pevsner N, 1984, The Buildings of England Leicestershire and Rutland, p173 (Bibliographic reference). SLE4.

<4> Elkin, Kathleen (ed), 2015, Medieval Leicestershire: Recent Research on the Medieval Archaeology of Leicestershire, p134, "Medieval fortified sites of Leics & Rutland", Richard Knox (Bibliographic reference). SLE5149.

"A large conical motte with a horseshoe shaped bailey to the north-west. A small ditch and bank to the south may have been dug to drain the motte ditch (Page 1907, 259-60). In 1877, curious railway engineers sunk two shafts into the mound (Dibbin 1878, 316-21). They recorded the original ground surface as being 17 feet 6 inches down, and described a layer of peat and bog earth, containing leather, wood and bone fragments below the natural layer. The mound was made up of layers of clay, gravel and boulders as well as thick layers of burnt material. Metal, bone and ceramic finds were made throughout, although the upper layers were cleaner, with a somewhat gravely, yellow clay, capped with a 15 inch layer of hard chalky material. No sign of a wooden or stone palisade or tower were recorded on the motte. The engineers also sunk numerous pits within the bailey and strong evidence of iron smelting was found - although the dating for this is uncertain. A minor evaluation in 1943 revealed no new information."

<5> Hartley, RF, 2018, The medieval earthworks of south and south-east Leicestershire, p78 (Bibliographic reference). SLE5736.

"About 600m west of Hallaton village, above the confluence of two streams, are the well preserved earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey castle. The conical motte (a) has a summit platform about 20m in diameter and over 7m high. To the north-west lies the sub-circular bailey (b) within a substantial bank and ditch. There are two more enclosures (d, e), possibly used for garden plots, around the eastern side of the motte, taking advantage of space between the defences and the top of the steep, natural banks down to the streams."

<6> Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Vol 7 (1878), p316-21 (Bibliographic reference). SLE5995.

In the summer of 1877 railway engineers 'excavated' the site. They sank 2 shafts into the mound. 'Natural' was 17'6" down. Then a layer of peat and trees and bog earth, including 'heath and hazel, broom and furze, birch and oak', some with axe marks. In this were 'numerous splinters of bone', also pottery, leather shoes, a shoe-lace, charred wood and burnt stones. Above this were layers of clay, gravel and boulders with very abundant remains of wood fires together with burnt and blackened fragments of pots and also burnt and splintered bones. Also layers of ashy refuse up to 4" thick with iron objects, one gilded, bits of shoes, wooden bowls, a wooden shovel, squared stakes, a portion of ladder (?), 2 fragments of Roman pottery and large quantities of pottery, some crude 'British' through to salt glaze. The last 10-12 feet were clean, somewhat gravely yellow clay with many bones, and large pebbles and boulders. On top was a hard chalky stratum 15" thick. In the bailey 'numerous holes were sunk' and 'the abundance of melted iron ore, which with dross and charcoal and refuse showed plainly that it had been worked and wrought in situ'. 'Burnt red stones… surrounded by charcoal' were noted. Horse-shoes, buckles, rude ware, pipestones etc of last 200-300 years were noted. It was thought that it might have been used as a garden.

<7> Leicestershire SMR Comment, PL (undated) (Unpublished document). SLE7870.

In 1943 attempts were made to excavate the mound and some small holes were dug in the bailey. In the bailey 4 pottery sherds were found and a curved piece of iron. 2 sherds had light green glaze and FC called them 'Norman'. There were also animal bones. (AR 43/5)

<8> Scheduled Monument List/Amendment, KW 22/02/94 (Scheduling record). SLE7368.

Site scheduled 24/02/92, Hallaton motte and bailey castle.

<9> 2016, National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) accessioning (Website). SLE4981.

SUMMARY: "Medieval motte and bailey with an additional rectangular enclosure surviving as an earthwork. Excavation revealed `Norman' pottery, a quern stone, leather and wood objects and evidence of iron working. The conical motte is approximately 50 metres in diameter and 7.5 metres high from the bottom of the ditch, witha small flat area at the summit only a few metres across. The encircling ditch is up to 3 metres deep and 8 metres wide, with causeways on the south west and south eastern sides with a break in the ditch where the bailey joins it on the south side. The horse-shoe shaped bailey encloses an area of about 60 by 30 metres, and is bounded by a ditch up to 2 metres deep and 5 metres wide and an inner bank up to 2 metres high. A break in both the ditch and bank on the north-west side indicates the position of the entrance. An additional rectangular enclosure on the north of the motte, 35 by 25 metres, is defined by a ditch which survives in places to a depth of 0.75 metres. on the south side of the motte is a further ditch 5 metres wide with a bank 8 metres wide and 0.75 metres high which projects south for 40 metres. A series of depressions on the summit of the motte are the result of 19th century excavations. Scheduled."
URL: 'https://nrhe-to-her.esdm.co.uk/NRHE/RecordDetail.aspx?pageid=45&he_uid=344012', accessioned 27/05/2025.

<10> Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 (6") and 10K historic mapping, 1904 (Map). SLE7243.

[SP 7500 9670] Castle Hill (Tumulus) [O.E.] (Bronze, Iron & Brass Instruments, & Fragments of Urns &c. found) [T.I.]

<11> Hamilton Thompson, A, 1912, Military Architecture in England During the Middle Ages, p51, plan (Bibliographic reference). SLE8234.

Additional reference.

<12> Armitage, ES, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles, p88 (Bibliographic reference). SLE8235.

Additional reference.

<13> Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Vol 1 (1937), p140, p155 (Hugh Braun) (Journal). SLE6003.

Additional reference.

<14> Firth, JB, 1926, Highways & Byways of Leicestershire, p230 (Bibliographic reference). SLE6053.

Additional reference.

<15> The Archaeological Journal, Vol 46 (1889), p207 (GT Clark) (Journal). SLE2994.

Additional reference.

<16> 1875-1881, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 5, Vol 5 (1882), p72, p75-6 (JH Hill, HA Dibbin) (Journal). SLE5958.

Additional reference.

<17> Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Vol 7 (1901), p32-3 (IC Gould) (Journal). SLE6003.

Additional reference.

<18> 1866, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 1, Vol 1 (1891), p170-6 (Journal). SLE5936.

Additional reference.

<19> Virtual catalogue entry to support NAR migration, Scheme for Recording Ancient Earthworks (1903) 16, plan (Congress of Archaeological Socs.) (Unpublished document). SLE7248.

Additional reference.

<20> Nichols J, The History and Antiquities of Leicestershire, Vol 2 pt 2 (1798), p600-1, plan, illus. (Bibliographic reference). SLE7.

Additional reference.

<21> Virtual catalogue entry to support NAR migration, Dowman Mss. (C.1890-1914), plan & notes, p.1 (Unpublished document). SLE7248.

Additional reference.

<22> Scheduled Monument List/Amendment, A.M. England & Wales, 1958, (M.O.W.) (Scheduling record). SLE7368.

'Hallaton Castle'..scheduled as an ancient monument.

<23> Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, Field Investigators Comments, W C Woodhouse/08-SEP-1959 (Website). SLE3488.

The main earthworks on Castle Hill comprise an earthern motte and bailey. The motte is accurately described by VCH except that there is no evidence of a counter-scarp bank to the ditch - there is an apparent bank on the east but this is an effect produced by the steep slope to the stream-valley. The bailey to the north is also accurately described. There is no evidence of a further bailey to the north east, as indicated by VCH. It appears to be a misidentification of a shallow ditch on the east of the motte - see below. On the south side of the motte there appears to have been a small bailey, formed by a bank with outer ditch, now visible as a slight depression with faint traces of the bank. On the east of the motte a shallow ditch, 2.3m wide and 0.5m deep, leaving the motte-ditch makes a right-angled turn before fading-out on the edge of the natural slope. It is too slight to be associable with the defensive works of the motte-and-bailey. No other earthworks were seen in the vicinity. The stream-valley has traces of old quarrying along its sides and clay ironstone outcrops locally - significant in view of the evidence of ironworking found.
The earthworks are under rough pasture. Ploughing is beginning to encroach upon the ditches but apart from cattle-treading the earthworks are in good condition. For a general view of the site from the hill to the east see GPs AO/59/173/3 & 4. Surveyed at 25". The earthworks are visible as relief-markings on APs (RAF CPE/UIC/1925 4170-71 16-JAN-1947).

<24> Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, Field Investigators Comments, J Baird/08-NOV-1971 (Website). SLE3488.

A motte with single bailey on NW; the other earthworks previously noted as baileys are very minor and incomplete and do not merit this classification. See annotated 25" survey.

<25> Scheduled Monument List/Amendment, SAM Amendment Leicestershire 1993 (Scheduling record). SLE7368.

SP 7798 9670. Hallaton motte and bailey castle.
The conical motte is approximately 50m in diameter and 7.5m high from th bottom of the ditch, with a small flat area at the summit only a few metres acros. The encircling ditch is up to 3m deep and 8m wide, with causeways on the south-west and south-eastern sides and a break in the ditch where the bailey joins it on the south side. The horse-shoe-shaped bailey encloses an area about 60 x 30m, and is bounded by a ditch up to 2m deep and 5m wide and an inner bank up to 2m high. A break in both the ditch and bank on the north-west side indicates the position of the entrance. An additional rectangular enclosure on the north of the motte, 35 x 25m, is defined by a ditch which survives in places to a depth of 0.75m. on the south side of the motte is a further ditch 5m wide with a bank 8m wide and 0,75m high which projects south for forty metres.
A series of depressions on the summit of the motte are the result of 19th century excavations. Further small scale excavations in the bailey in 1943 produced `Norman' pottery. It seems likely that the castle formed the administrative centre of the estate owned by Geoffrey Alselin which is described in Domesday.
Scheduled (RSM) No 17053.

<26> Cathcart King, DJ, 1982, Castellarium Anglicanum: an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Vol I: Anglesey to Montgomery, p253 (Bibliographic reference). SLE4995.

Listed by Cathcart King.

Sources

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)
• BOWL (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)
• LADDER (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHERD (Early Medieval to Late Post-medieval - 1067 AD to 1899 AD)
• SHOE (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHOVEL (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)
• SLAG (Medieval - 1067 AD to 1539 AD)

Designations

• Scheduled Monument 1010487: HALLATON MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE

Associated Images

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