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The big facts page

134 motte-and-bailey facts, all checked

Every fact on this site in one place, each linked to its source. Our build checks each one against the source text; see the sources page. Things that can change carry the date we checked them, and where sources disagree you’ll find both.

Jump to: The parts of the castle | Building them | History | Castles and places (some dated) | The national curriculum | Where sources differ

The parts of the castle

  1. 1 English Heritage calls the motte and bailey the most common type of earthwork castle, and the real Norman innovation. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  2. 2 The motte is a man-made mound of layers of earth and stone, usually shaped like an upside-down pudding bowl, with steep sides and a flat top. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  3. 3 On top, the Normans built a rectangular timber tower (the keep, or donjon) and dug a deep ditch around the outside. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  4. 4 Towers were often made in pieces somewhere else, then put up on the mound like enormous flat-pack furniture. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  5. 5 The tower was mainly a watchtower, a firing post and a last refuge in an attack. In quieter times, nobles lived in a timber hall nearby. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  6. 6 English Heritage says the tower would have been decidedly uncomfortable to live in. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  7. 7 The bailey was the fenced outer enclosure, with the buildings of daily life and pens for animals. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  8. 8 The bailey was the working part of the castle. The Normans were a cavalry army, so secure stabling inside its defences was essential. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  9. 9 Some castles had more than one bailey: English Heritage gives Castle Rising in Norfolk as an example. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  10. 10 The sides of the motte and the earth banks were topped with timber palisades: wooden posts fitted so closely together that they formed a solid wall. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  11. 11 The motte was sometimes covered all over with a layer of clay so that attackers could not climb up. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  12. 12 Ditches were once steeper and deeper. Over 900 or more years, rain and wind have washed soil into them. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  13. 13 Castle ditches are always on the outside of the bank, which made the inside easier to defend. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  14. 14 Most earthwork castles were built in the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066, from timber, with deep ditches and earth banks topped by wooden fences and gatehouses. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  15. 15 The timber has long since rotted away, and the earth banks have worn down. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  16. 16 A ringwork castle had no motte. Instead it had another ring of banks, ditches and a timber palisade, with the timber tower inside. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  17. 17 The earliest ringwork castles were built before 1066, by Anglo-Saxons and Viking settlers. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  18. 18 Sometimes an existing hill was used, but often the mound was made by piling up earth. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  19. 19 A raised bridge could cross the ditch from the bailey to the motte. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  20. 20 Buildings in the bailey included houses, stables, workshops and storehouses. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  21. 21 Britannica Kids says a ditch called a moat protected the motte, and sometimes the bailey too. Britannica Kids: Castle
  22. 22 A shell-keep is a circular or oval wall around a courtyard and buildings, on the top of a motte. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle

Building them

  1. 23 They were quick to build, and could be put up by unskilled forced labourers using basic materials. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  2. 24 The first step was a rampart around the edge, dug within a few days. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  3. 25 The motte itself took a team of about 100 men around forty days. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  4. 26 Castles were often placed inside an existing Saxon settlement, and local people’s homes were destroyed to make room. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  5. 27 Some hastily built mottes started to slump, and did not survive later attempts to rebuild them in heavy stone. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  6. 28 The National Archives says these timber castles were quite cheap and very quick to build. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  7. 29 Their weak points: they were easy to attack with fire, and the wood would eventually rot. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  8. 30 Britannica calls the motte and bailey a simple yet very effective type of castle that could be built quickly and inexpensively, though the wooden tower could easily burn or rot. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  9. 31 The earliest ones were built where the ground was suitable and timber was available. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  10. 32 The first French castles stood on open plains, so a motte was needed to raise the castle above the plain. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle

History

  1. 33 In 10th-century France, strongholds often had a high mound circled by a ditch, as at Blois and Saumur. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Castle
  2. 34 During the 11th century the motte-and-bailey castle spread throughout western Europe. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Castle
  3. 35 The Normans were Vikings who had settled in France. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  4. 36 Even before the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror built a castle at Hastings, near where he landed. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  5. 37 Led by William the Conqueror, the Normans built hundreds of motte-and-bailey castles to take control of England after 1066, and many castles in Wales, Scotland and Ireland too. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  6. 38 Britannica says motte-and-bailey castles became the hallmark of the Norman conquest. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  7. 39 Over the next 150 years the Normans built around 1,000 castles in England and Wales. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  8. 40 Castles were something quite new in England. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  9. 41 The chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote that the fortifications the Normans called castles were scarcely known in the English provinces. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  10. 42 English Heritage says motte-and-bailey designs were very common: a mound topped by a wooden tower, with a defended enclosure, the bailey, alongside. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  11. 43 Often, as at Totnes, the wooden defences were later replaced in stone. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  12. 44 These castles housed Norman nobles and their families, as well as knights and soldiers. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  13. 45 They were built in strategic places, sometimes on the sites of prehistoric or Roman strongholds. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  14. 46 By the 12th century, those who could afford it were building stone keeps like the ones William the Conqueror raised at London and Colchester. English Heritage: Castles Through Time
  15. 47 The National Archives says the castle as we know it was introduced into England in 1066, during the Norman invasion led by William the Conqueror. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  16. 48 The Normans built castles all over the country to control and defend the land they had won. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  17. 49 Once the Normans were in control, castles also became centres for local government, running the area, and justice. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  18. 50 Most castles were granted by the king to loyal lords along with large areas of land, which the lords then ran for him. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  19. 51 A castle needed a whole group of people, including constables, masons, blacksmiths and servants. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  20. 52 The National Archives says King William ordered that castles should be built in stone, and many timber castles were replaced with stone ones. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  21. 53 From the late 11th century, motte-and-bailey castles began to be replaced by stone keep castles, which were stronger and less likely to catch fire. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  22. 54 In England the Normans built stone castles even while they kept using the motte-and-bailey type. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  23. 55 William the Conqueror began building the White Tower of the Tower of London about 1078. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  24. 56 In the 12th century there was another burst of motte-building during the civil war called the Anarchy, when Stephen and Matilda fought for the throne from 1135 to 1154. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  25. 57 In that war, a timber tower could be taken apart and moved on to the next place, leaving the motte behind. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  26. 58 In most places mottes went out of fashion by 1200, though they were still built in the north into the 1300s. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  27. 59 New stone castles did not need earth mounds, and stone was seen as more impressive and high-status. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  28. 60 Many later castle sites have a Conquest motte or ringwork hidden somewhere inside them. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  29. 61 Some mottes were later reshaped into prospect mounds: picturesque hillocks with a good view over the land. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  30. 62 Prehistoric and Roman burial mounds and flat-topped medieval windmill mounds can look like mottes, and have puzzled even archaeologists. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  31. 63 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
  32. 64 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
  33. 65 The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story, in wool thread embroidered on linen, of William, Duke of Normandy, who became King of England in 1066 after the Battle of Hastings. Bayeux Museum: Discover the Bayeux Tapestry
  34. 66 Despite its name, the Bayeux Tapestry is actually an embroidery. Bayeux Museum: Discover the Bayeux Tapestry
  35. 67 The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. Bayeux Museum: Discover the Bayeux Tapestry
  36. 68 The Tapestry is 70 metres long and 50cm high, with 58 scenes. Bayeux Museum: Explore the Bayeux Tapestry online

Castles and places (some dated)

  1. 69 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
  2. 70 York’s Norman motte-and-bailey castle was built largely of earth and timber. English Heritage: History of Clifford’s Tower
  3. 71 Clifford’s Tower was one of two Norman motte-and-bailey castles built in York in 1068–9. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  4. 72 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
  5. 73 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
  6. 74 Its Norman Castles page also says Totnes was founded around 1087. English Heritage: Norman Castles
  7. 75 English Heritage’s castle-spotting guide says Totnes Castle was raised in 1068. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  8. 76 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
  9. 77 The Totnes motte is thought to be a natural outcrop that people made higher. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  10. 78 At Totnes the main buildings, such as the hall, chambers, chapel and kitchens, were in the bailey. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  11. 79 Excavation suggests the Totnes motte was first crowned with a tall timber watchtower inside a timber palisade. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  12. 80 Totnes Castle saw no sieges or battles. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  13. 81 English Heritage says it was presumably where rents were paid to the lord, and offenders were tried and locked up. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  14. 82 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
  15. 83 The castle-spotting guide says the stone shell-keep follows the line of the original wooden palisade fence. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  16. 84 The shell-keep’s wall-walk has 30-odd crenellations, most of them pierced with slots for crossbows. English Heritage: Visit Totnes Castle
  17. 85 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
  18. 86 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
  19. 87 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
  20. 88 Berkhamsted was the classic Norman motte-and-bailey form, with a conical mound and an oval bailey below. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
  21. 89 It controlled the northern approach to London, 30 miles away. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
  22. 90 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
  23. 91 Its water-filled ditches stopped attackers tunnelling under the wall. English Heritage: History of Berkhamsted Castle
  24. 92 Count Brian of Brittany set up a castle at Launceston around 1068. English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle
  25. 93 Launceston and Trematon were the only two castles in Cornwall listed in Domesday Book (1086). English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle
  26. 94 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
  27. 95 In the 1090s the local market moved into the castle’s outer bailey. English Heritage: History of Launceston Castle
  28. 96 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
  29. 97 William the Conqueror gave border lands to followers who became powerful marcher lords. English Heritage: History of Clun Castle
  30. 98 Clun Castle sits high on a natural rocky mound in a loop of the river Clun. English Heritage: History of Clun Castle
  31. 99 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
  32. 100 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
  33. 101 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
  34. 102 Unusually for a Norman castle, Peveril Castle’s buildings were built in stone rather than timber. English Heritage: Norman Castles
  35. 103 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
  36. 104 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
  37. 105 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
  38. 106 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
  39. 107 Wiston first appears in documents in 1147, when the Welsh attacked it. Llywelyn the Great destroyed it in 1220. Cadw: Wiston Castle
  40. 108 The stone shell-keep, a later addition to the motte, still stands up to 4m (13ft) high in places. Cadw: Wiston Castle
  41. 109 Cadw lists Wiston as free entry, open 10am–4pm. Cadw: Wiston Castle · checked 30 Oct 2026
  42. 110 Cadw says there may be livestock in the surrounding field, especially in spring and summer, and asks visitors to keep pets on leads. Cadw: Wiston Castle · checked 30 Oct 2026
  43. 111 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)
  44. 112 Its construction is recorded in 1149, and its destruction in 1157. Cadw: Scheduled monument report, Tomen y Rhodwydd (DE018)
  45. 113 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
  46. 114 Duffus was built about 1150 by Freskin, a Fleming. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance
  47. 115 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
  48. 116 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
  49. 117 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
  50. 118 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
  51. 119 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
  52. 120 Historic Environment Scotland’s visitor page says the stone castle seen today was built in the 1300s, replacing a timber stronghold. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle
  53. 121 Its Statement of Significance says the ruined stone keep and the bailey’s curtain wall are most likely early 14th century. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance
  54. 122 Duffus was a fortress-residence for more than 500 years, and was abandoned in 1705. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle
  55. 123 In 1297 the castle was burnt by Edward I of England. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance
  56. 124 Duffus was taken into state care in 1925. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance

The national curriculum

  1. 125 In England’s national curriculum, KS2 pupils study an aspect or theme in British history that extends their knowledge beyond 1066. GOV.UK (DfE): National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  2. 126 KS2’s Anglo-Saxon and Viking study runs up to Edward the Confessor and his death in 1066. GOV.UK (DfE): National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  3. 127 A KS2 local history study can be of a site from a period beyond 1066 that is significant in the area. GOV.UK (DfE): National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  4. 128 At KS3, pupils study Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066–1509. The Norman Conquest is a non-statutory example. GOV.UK (DfE): National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  5. 129 KS3 examples also include English campaigns to conquer Wales and Scotland up to 1314, and feudalism. GOV.UK (DfE): National curriculum in England, history programmes of study

Where sources differ

  1. 130 The National Archives describes the bailey as a large ditch-and-bank enclosure that surrounded the motte. The National Archives: Medieval castles (education)
  2. 131 English Heritage’s castle-spotting guide also calls the bailey the outer fenced enclosure surrounding the motte. English Heritage blog: How to spot a castle hiding in plain sight
  3. 132 Britannica Kids puts the bailey at the base of the motte. Britannica Kids (Students): Castle
  4. 133 At Totnes the bailey is a larger enclosure on level ground below the motte. English Heritage: History of Totnes Castle
  5. 134 At Duffus the bailey lies to the east of the motte, across a broad, deep ditch. Historic Environment Scotland: Duffus Castle Statement of Significance