| Summary: | This motte and bailey castle survives as a circular motte, rock-cut ditch and crescent shaped bailey with an outer bank. The motte has a diameter of 48.7m and is 7.9m high. On top of the motte is a ring bank which attains a height of up to 4m in places and is up to 2m wide. The central enclosed area has a small linear bank running north-south within it, which measures 3.5m wide and up to 1.7m high and runs across the top of the mound and this is very stoney. The rock-cut ditch which surrounds the foot of the motte is 4m wide and 2m deep.
The crescent shaped bailey, which lies to the north east side of the motte, is 60m by 40m and bounded on all sides by a bank which measures up to 1.5m wide and 2m high on average except on the east side where it attains a height of some 4m. On the east side there is an entrance which measures 2.8m wide. From the entrance and across the ditch there is a causeway which extends to the outer bank. On the north side of the bailey a more modern entrance has formed which measures 3.5 to 4m wide. From the bailey to the motte on the north east side there is the possibility of a bridgeway. An outer bank surrounds the motte and bailey this measures up to 4m wide and 1.6m high. The monument lies relatively near another contemporary castle which lies a short distance to the south and is the subject of a separate scheduling. The castle is thought to date to the 1130's and 1140's and the fact that two are so close together may reflect civil war antagonism or replacement of one by the other. Excluded from the monument are the timber steps and walkways, but the ground below is included. |
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