The remains found on the site show that it was originally an Iron Age fort[3] which gave the mount its ancient name, Donnilee.[4] The hilltop and the surrounding area was "sculpted" to form a motte and bailey fortification with its timber Hall following the Norman conquest.[5] It was followed by the construction of a stone castle. According to sources it was Thurston De Montfort who built the stone castle here in 1140 during the reign of Henry II,[6] and it remained the De Montfort seat for more than a hundred years.[7] Peter de Montfort also resided at the castle. The Earl of Warwick took possession of the De Montfort's land in approximately 1369, and subsequently the castle's importance declined. According to some accounts it was repaired in 1411 but later abandoned.[2] During the early years of the War of the Roses, between York and Lancaster, the castle, which was then unoccupied and had fallen into disrepair, was dismantled, and its heavy timbers were, according to some sources, used for the construction of stately houses at Henley.[8][9] A single stone and earthworks remain today, along with evidence of two fishponds and some remains of the motte and bailey fortification.[10]
The site was investigated by the archaeologists of Time Team in series 9 (2002).[11]
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle was rebuilt in stone during the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th-century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house, and it was owned by the Greville family until 1978, when it was bought by the Tussauds Group.
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, as well as the Low Countries it controlled, in the 11th century, when these castles were popularized in the area that became the Netherlands. The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, and Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. 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.
Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subsequently demolished on the orders of Henry II of England. Rebuilding of the castle took place from the second half of the thirteenth century and culminated in the construction of a range of buildings within the fortifications by John Dudley. The fortifications were slighted by order of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War and the residential buildings destroyed by fire in 1750. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the site was used for fêtes and pageants. Today Dudley Zoo is located on its grounds.
Peter de Montfort of Beaudesert Castle was an English magnate, soldier and diplomat. He is the first person recorded as having presided over Parliament as a parlour or prolocutor, an office now known as Speaker of the House of Commons. He was one of those elected by the barons to represent them during the constitutional crisis with Henry III in 1258. He was later a leading supporter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester against the King. Both he and Simon de Montfort were slain at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265.
Henley-in-Arden is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The town takes its last name from the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date back to medieval times, and its wide variety of preserved architectural styles. The one-mile-long (1.6 km) High Street is a conservation area.
Pickering Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification in Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. The original castle was made of timber, and the later stone castle was a temporary prison for Richard II in 1399.
Beaudesert is a village, civil parish and former manor in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, immediately east across the River Alne to the east of Henley-in-Arden, to which it is closely associated and shares a joint parish council with. The main village, consisting of the church and a single short street of houses, stands close to the river and directly opposite Henley Church. Behind the village to the east rises the hill, locally known as 'The Mount', crowned with the earthwork remains of Beaudesert Castle of the De Montforts. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 919, increasing to 990 at the 2011 Census.
Aldford Castle is a motte and bailey castle in the village of Aldford in Cheshire. The motte is to the north of St John's Church, and the church stands on the site of an infilled bailey ditch.
Ashton Keynes Castle was a castle in the village of Ashton Keynes, near to the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire, England. It is also known as Hall's Close, while locals call it The Battlefield. The scheduled monument consists of a ringwork and bailey 100 metres (330 ft) west of Kentend Farm.
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.
Hartshill Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Hartshill on the outskirts of Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register due to erosion, structural problems and vandalism; most notably when the castle was damaged by vandals in October 2016.
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.
Pilsbury Castle was a Norman castle in Derbyshire near the present-day village of Pilsbury, overlooking the River Dove.
Stockport Castle was a promontory castle in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The castle was in the medieval town, overlooking a ford over the River Mersey. It was first documented in 1173, but the next mention of it is in 1535 when it was in ruins. What remained of the castle was demolished in 1775.
Buittle Castle, also known historically as Botle or Botel Castle, is a Motte and Bailey site in Galloway, south-west Scotland with significant early and medieval history comprising a significant ruined Norman style Motte, and several extant buildings and gardens, including the later residential building in the form of the Tower House, on the historic Bailey. It is located in the valley of the River Urr, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Dalbeattie. The castle is within the parish of Buittle, in the traditional county of Kirkcudbrightshire and is a scheduled ancient monument.
Snodhill Castle is a ruined motte-and-bailey castle, about 1 mi (1.6 km) south of the village of Dorstone in west Herefordshire, England. It is recognized as one of the major castles of the Welsh Marches. It was built in the 11th century to secure the border between Norman England and the Welsh Princes. Archaeological excavations show that it was one of the first Norman castles in England to have stone-built fortifications, with more sophisticated defenses being added in later centuries.
Pinxton Castle, Derbyshire, is a scheduled monument in Castle Wood that straddles Pinxton and South Normanton. In its designation as a scheduled monument, Historic England describes it as having been a motte and fortified manor, with a moated site and five fishponds. Unlike most of the about 6000 moated sites in England, a large, fortified enclosure surrounded the moat.
Fillongley Castle was a motte and bailey castle and later a fortified manor house in Fillongley in Warwickshire, England. Today, only earthworks and partial ruins exist.
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