Ascot d'Oilly Castle is situated north of the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood in the north west region of Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled ancient monument.[1] A fragment of the castle remains and is a Grade II listed building.[2] It was named after Roger d'Oilly who was granted it by William the Conqueror and whose brother built Oxford Castle. It is thought that the castle was built around 1129 and it was demolished soon after 1175. There are fragmentary remains of a stone tower. The remains consist of raised ground surrounded by broad ditching.[3]
Today the motte of the original castle survives as a mound, around 32 metres (105ft) wide and 3 metres (9.8ft) high. The ruins of the keep are situated on top of this mound in the central 20-metre (66ft) area. It was excavated by Martyn Jope and R. I. Threlfall in 1946–1947[4] and then in 1959. Excavations carried out in 1946–1947 not only unearthed a number of important artefacts such as 12th-century shelly ware pottery,[1][5] they also showed how earth was piled up around the outside of a square tower for fortification i.e the castle was built on ground level and then the clay mound, that survives to date, was built around it, instead of the castle being built on a raised mound from the start.[6][7] Only traces of the tower remain and they suggest that it was about 11 square metres (120sqft) with walls 2 metres (6ft 7in) thick.[8]
The castle is very close to the fortification of Ascott Earl Castle, built on an adjacent estate at the other end of the village.[9] These two castles are considered unique, as they are in close proximity, being only 550 metres (1,800ft) apart, yet they have never been used in armed struggle against each other.[10] The castle is also very close to Leafield Castle with it only being 2.7 miles away. It is possible that these two fortifications are linked with the shared defence of West Oxfordshire.
Creighton, Oliver Hamilton. (2005) Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London: Equinox. ISBN978-1-904768-67-8.
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to build with unskilled labour, but still militarily formidable, these castles were built across northern Europe from the 10th century onwards, spreading from Normandy and Anjou in France, into the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century. The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, the Low Countries and Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. Windsor Castle, in England, is an example of a motte-and-bailey castle. By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.
Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and the castle played an important role in the conflict of the Anarchy. In the 14th century the military value of the castle diminished and the site became used primarily for county administration and as a prison. The surviving rectangular St George's Tower is now believed to pre-date the remainder of the castle and be a watch tower associated with the original Saxon west gate of the city.
Ascott-under-Wychwood is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode valley about 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 560.
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire, adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Saxon burgh, it grew to become what historian Nicholas Brooks has described as "one of the most powerful royal castles of the 12th and 13th centuries". Held for the Empress Matilda during the civil war years of the Anarchy, it survived multiple sieges and was never taken. Over the next two centuries it became a luxurious castle, used by royalty and their immediate family. After being abandoned as a royal residence by Henry VIII, the castle fell into decline. Refortified during the English Civil War, it was eventually slighted, i.e. deliberately destroyed, after being captured by Parliamentary forces after a long siege. The site was subsequently left relatively undeveloped, and the limited remains of the castle walls and the considerable earthworks are now open to the public.
Castle Acre Castle and town walls are a set of ruined medieval defences built in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk. The castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, at the intersection of the River Nar and the Peddars Way. William constructed a motte-and-bailey castle during the 1070s, protected by large earthwork ramparts, with a large country house in the centre of the motte. Soon after, a small community of Cluniac monks were given the castle's chapel in the outer bailey; under William, the second earl, the order was given land and estates to establish Castle Acre Priory alongside the castle. A deer park was created nearby for hunting.
Leafield is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Langley, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Leafield village. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 945. The village is 635 feet (194 m) above sea level in the Cotswold Hills. It was the highest point in Oxfordshire until the 1974 county boundary changes enlarged the county.
Skipsea Castle was a Norman motte and bailey castle near the village of Skipsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Built around 1086 by Drogo de la Beuvrière, apparently on the remains of an Iron Age mound, it was designed to secure the newly conquered region, defend against any potential Danish invasion and control the trade route across the region leading to the North Sea. The motte and the bailey were separated by Skipsea Mere, an artificial lake that was linked to the sea during the medieval period via a navigable channel. The village of Skipsea grew up beside the castle church, and the fortified town of Skipsea Brough was built alongside the castle around 1160 to capitalise on the potential trade.
Deddington Castle is an extensive earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth ramparts and mound now visible.
Ascott d'Oyley is a village in Oxfordshire, England. The name ‘Ascott’ is derived from the Old English ēast (east) and cot (cottage), whilst d’Oyley was appended because Wido de Oileo ‘held the place in the late eleventh century.’ Ascott d’Oyley with its sister village Ascott Earl together form the larger community of Ascott-under-Wychwood. Ascott d’Oyley is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as having 14 households and a mill, under the lordship of Roger d'Oilly, and tenanted by Robert d’Oilly, whose family gives the village its name. An earthmound marks the remains of Ascott d’Oyley Castle. Today the village consists of stone-built houses and cottages grouped around the High Street and Mill Lane. Ascott d'Oyley is served by Windrush Valley School and Ascott-under-Wychwood railway station.
Thetford Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the market town of Thetford in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. The first castle in Thetford, a probable 11th-century Norman ringwork called Red Castle, was replaced in the 12th century by a much larger motte and bailey castle on the other side of the town. This new castle was largely destroyed in 1173 by Henry II, although the huge motte, the second largest man-made mound in England, remained intact. The motte, recognised as a scheduled monument, now forms part of a local park, and the remains are known variously as Castle Hill, Castle Mound and Military Parade.
Adulterine castles were fortifications built in England during the 12th century without royal approval, particularly during the civil war of the Anarchy between 1139 and 1154.
Burwell Castle was an unfinished medieval enclosure castle in Burwell, Cambridgeshire, England.
Bishopton Castle was a medieval castle in Bishopton village, County Durham, England. The surviving motte is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Cheveley Castle was a medieval fortified manor house near Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, England.
Ascott Earl Castle was a castle in the village of Ascott Earl, Oxfordshire, England.
Down End Castle, also known as Downend Castle, Chisley Mount or Chidley Mount, was a motte-and-bailey castle at Down End, north of Dunball in the parish of Puriton, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Middleton Mount, also called Middleton Motte and Middleton Castle, is the remains of a medieval castle situated in the village of Middleton, in Norfolk, England.
Bury Castle near Brompton Regis in the English county of Somerset was an Iron Age univallate hillfort which was reused with the creation of a motte after the Norman Conquest. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.
An urban castle is a castle that is located within a medieval town or city or is integrated into its fortifications.
Leafield Castle is a motte castle in the village of Leafield in the north west region of Oxfordshire. All that is left of the castle are the earthworks and the earth mound that formed the centre of the castle. It has a commanding view and is 220 metres (720 ft) north west of the Church of St Michael and All Angels. The castle is similar in size and shape to the nearby Ascot d'Oilly Castle.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
