Motte-and-bailey castles in England, Wales and Scotland
Fifteen sites, each with what the people who look after them say.
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England
Totnes Castle, Devon
English Heritage’s Totnes history says the castle was founded around 1087, inside an Anglo-Saxon town, by a follower of William I. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle William the Conqueror gave Judhael of Brittany a large estate in Devon, and Judhael founded the castle at Totnes. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
The Totnes motte is thought to be a natural outcrop that people made higher. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle Historic England records the Totnes motte as a mound of earth and rock 58m across and 17.5m high, covered with a waterproof layer of puddled clay. Historic England: Totnes Castle, list entry 1014607
Excavation suggests the Totnes motte was first crowned with a tall timber watchtower inside a timber palisade. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle A timber tower with a square ground plan once stood on a dry stone foundation on top of the Totnes motte. Historic England: Totnes Castle, list entry 1014607
At Totnes the main buildings, such as the hall, chambers, chapel and kitchens, were in the bailey. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle The shell-keep’s wall-walk has 30-odd crenellations, most of them pierced with slots for crossbows. English Heritage: Visit Totnes Castle
Totnes Castle saw no sieges or battles. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle More than 950 years after it was founded, Totnes is still one of the most imposing castles in England. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
One English Heritage page dates Totnes to 1068. More on when sources disagree.
Berkhamsted Castle, Hertfordshire
After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror received the submission of the English at Berkhamsted. His half-brother, Robert of Mortain, built a timber castle there in about 1070. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle Berkhamsted was the classic Norman motte-and-bailey form, with a conical mound and an oval bailey below. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
It controlled the northern approach to London, 30 miles away. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle Its water-filled ditches stopped attackers tunnelling under the wall. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
In 1216 Prince Louis of France besieged Berkhamsted for two weeks, battering it with huge stones flung from siege weapons. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
Clifford’s Tower, York
In 1068 William the Conqueror marched north to put down a rebellion and built a series of castles on the way, including one where Clifford’s Tower in York now stands. English Heritage: History of Clifford’s Tower York’s Norman motte-and-bailey castle was built largely of earth and timber. English Heritage: History of Clifford’s Tower
In the middle of the 1200s King Henry III decided to build a completely new stone tower on the mound. English Heritage: History of Clifford’s Tower
Launceston Castle, Cornwall
Count Brian of Brittany set up a castle at Launceston around 1068. English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle Launceston and Trematon were the only two castles in Cornwall listed in Domesday Book (1086). English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle
At Launceston the buildings and defences were timber at first; later in the 12th century stone was used, including a shell keep on the mound. English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle In the 1090s the local market moved into the castle’s outer bailey. English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle
Clun Castle, Shropshire
Clun Castle’s first motte-and-bailey castle was built in the late 11th century, on the Anglo-Welsh border. English Heritage: History of Clun Castle Clun Castle sits high on a natural rocky mound in a loop of the river Clun. English Heritage: History of Clun Castle
Castle Acre, Norfolk
Castle Acre was begun in the 1070s by William I de Warenne, and English Heritage calls it a well-preserved example of a motte-and-bailey design. English Heritage: Norman Castles
Norham Castle, Northumberland
Norham Castle began as a motte-and-bailey castle founded in 1121 by Bishop Flambard, and was rebuilt in stone in about 1157. English Heritage: Norman Castles
Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland
At Prudhoe a timber castle was built in the 11th century, one of a series along the River Tyne; a stone castle replaced it in the 12th century. English Heritage: Norman Castles
Peveril Castle, Derbyshire
Unusually for a Norman castle, Peveril Castle’s buildings were built in stone rather than timber. English Heritage: Norman Castles
Skipsea Castle, Yorkshire
English Heritage’s Norman Castles page says an Iron Age mound was made into the motte at Skipsea, a castle from before 1086. English Heritage: Norman Castles Its castle-spotting guide says recent evidence shows the Skipsea mound was first built in the Late Stone Age, about three and a half thousand years earlier. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
Old Sarum, Wiltshire
At Old Sarum in 1086, William the Conqueror summoned all the major landowners to swear an oath of loyalty to him. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
Wales
Wiston Castle
Wiston Castle, about 8km east of Haverfordwest, is one of the best-preserved motte-and-bailey castles in Wales, probably built by an early Flemish settler named Wizo. Cadw: Wiston Castle Wiston first appears in documents in 1147, when the Welsh attacked it. Llywelyn the Great destroyed it in 1220. Cadw: Wiston Castle
The stone shell-keep, a later addition to the motte, still stands up to 4m (13ft) high in places. Cadw: Wiston Castle
Tomen y Rhodwydd
At Tomen y Rhodwydd near Llandegla, the ditched motte is 38–42m across and 4.9–7.8m high. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Tomen y Rhodwydd (DE018) Its construction is recorded in 1149, and its destruction in 1157. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Tomen y Rhodwydd (DE018)
Domen Castell, Welshpool
Cadw says Domen Castell in Welshpool is a strong contender for the castle of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn of Powys recorded in 1111, which would make it potentially the first documented native Welsh castle. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Domen Castell, Welshpool Domen Castell’s motte is about 6m high and once held a timber tower or palisade. In the early 1800s its earthworks were adapted to make a bowling green. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Domen Castell, Welshpool
Scotland
Duffus Castle, near Elgin
Historic Environment Scotland calls Duffus Castle, near Elgin, the best-preserved motte-and-bailey castle in state care. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance Duffus was built about 1150 by Freskin, a Fleming. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance
After an uprising by the men of Moray against King David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north, and Freskin built an earthwork-and-timber castle at Duffus. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories At Duffus the motte is a huge man-made mound with steep sides, and a wide ditch separates it from the bailey. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories
In about 1270 Duffus passed to Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, who probably built the square stone keep on the motte. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories In 1305 Edward I of England granted 200 oaks, probably used for the castle’s floors and roofs. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories
Around 1350 the keep may have been abandoned, possibly because it was beginning to slip down the mound. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle, history and stories Duffus was a fortress-residence for more than 500 years, and was abandoned in 1705. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle
Historic Environment Scotland’s pages date the stone keep differently. More on when sources disagree.
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