| Castle Neroche | |
|---|---|
| Near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England | |
 Eastern earthworks at Castle Neroche | |
  Castle Neroche | |
| Coordinates | 50°56′13″N3°02′15″W / 50.9370°N 3.0374°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference ST272158 |
| Type | Motte and bailey on Bronze Age site |
Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [1]
The hill rises to 260 metres (850 ft) on the northern escarpment of the Blackdown Hills. The area is part of a 35 square miles (91 km2) site covered by a landscape partnership, known as the Neroche Scheme, which is establishing trails and a public forest. It is managed by Forestry England and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and local organisations. [2]
The origin of the term Neroche is believed to be a contraction of the Old English words nierra and rechich or rachich for Rache, a type of hunting-dog used in Britain in the Middle Ages, giving a meaning of the camp where hunting dogs were kept. [3] This also gives the site its alternative name of Castle Rache. [4]
The reason for the construction of Iron Age hill forts has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were separated from the sources of tin and copper necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. [5] Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase played a role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction". [6]
There is little evidence of Iron Age remains at Castle Neroche, although the situation and shape of the site matches other Iron Age enclosures. [4] There is some indication that the site was strengthened with an additional rampart and outer enclosure. [7] The site was excavated by Harold St George Gray in 1903. [8] There have also been nearby archaeological finds of Mesolithic flints, [9] and a Bronze Age copper axe found in 1857, [10] but nothing from the Iron Age or Roman periods. [4]
The earthworks at the site are larger than would normally be found in a castle from the Norman period, raising speculation that it reused previously developed features. [4]
The castle was probably built by Robert, Count of Mortain in the 11th century. [11] [12] Archaeological evidence suggests it was built in several stages. During the first a rampart enclosing 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) was built. Soon after the Norman Conquest a smaller inner ringwork was constructed. The site was later converted into a motte and bailey, with a corner of the 20 feet (6.1 m) high motte serving as a barbican. [4]
By the early 12th century the castle was no longer in regular use. However, its use was resumed during The Anarchy, [4] a period of civil war and unsettled government during a succession dispute between the supporters of King Stephen (1135–1154) and those of his cousin, the Empress Matilda. Continued use in the later 12th century may have been by administrators of the surrounding royal forest as a base for operations against poachers. [12]
On 22 November 1945, a Royal Air Force Consolidated B-24 Liberator crashed into a field after hitting trees on Blackdown Hills between the castle and Buckland St Mary, killing all 27 people on board. [13] [14]
Cadbury Castle is a Bronze and Iron Age hillfort in the civil parish of South Cadbury in the English county of Somerset. It is a scheduled monument and has been associated with King Arthur's legendary court at Camelot.
The Blackdown Hills National Landscape is a National Landscape along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated in 1991 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In November 2023, it has become 'Blackdown Hills National Landscape' The area encompasses a set of hills of the same name.
Curland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Taunton. The village has a population of 225. The parish includes the hamlet of Abbey Hill.
Staple Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Taunton. The village has a population of 189 and is within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish includes the hamlet of Badger Street.
Buckland St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west of Ilminster and 8 miles (12.9 km) south of Taunton in the South Somerset district, close to the A303. The village has a population of 521. The parish is within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and includes the hamlet of Birchwood.
Plainsfield Camp is a possible Iron Age earthwork on the Quantock Hills near Aisholt in Somerset, England.
In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface.
Norton Camp is a Bronze Age hill fort at Norton Fitzwarren near Taunton in Somerset, England.
Bats Castle is an Iron Age hillfort at the top of a 213 metres (699 ft) high hill in the parish of Carhampton south south west of Dunster in Somerset, England.
Black Ball Camp is an Iron Age hillfort South West of Dunster, Somerset, England on the northern summit of Gallox Hill. It is a Scheduled Monument.
Blacker's Hill is an Iron Age hill fort at Chilcompton, 4.5 kilometres (3 mi) south west of Radstock, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Cow Castle is an Iron Age hillfort 5.75 kilometres (4 mi) West South West of Exford, Somerset, England within the Exmoor National Park. It is a Scheduled Monument. It has been added to the heritage at Risk register because of the risk from bracken.
Kenwalch's Castle is probably an Iron Age hill fort that may have been converted into a Roman fortress, near Penselwood, Somerset, England, 6.6 kilometres (4 mi) east south east of Bruton at grid reference ST747335. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is believed to be named after Cenwalh of Wessex.
Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic British Isles, with a few also dating to later Bronze Age Britain, British hillforts were primarily constructed during the British Iron Age. Some of these were apparently abandoned in the southern areas that were a part of Roman Britain, although at the same time, those areas of northern Britain that remained free from Roman occupation saw an increase in their construction. Some hillforts were reused in the Early Middle Ages, and in some rarer cases, into the Later Medieval period as well. By the early modern period, these had essentially all been abandoned, with many being excavated by archaeologists in the nineteenth century onward.
Mounsey Castle is an Iron Age irregular triangular earthwork of 1.75 hectares north west of Dulverton, Somerset, England. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument. It has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register.
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.
Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. It merged with West Somerset to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District, and Wellington Rural District. Taunton Deane was granted borough status in 1975, enabling the mayoralty of Taunton to be continued, when other districts did not have mayors. The district was given the name of an alternate form of the Taunton Deane Hundred.
There are over 670 scheduled monuments in the ceremonial county of Somerset in South West England. The county consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset Council. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.