| Down End Castle | |
|---|---|
| Dunball, Puriton, Somerset, England | |
 | |
  Down End Castle | |
| Coordinates | 51°10′03″N2°59′32″W / 51.1674°N 2.9921°W Coordinates: 51°10′03″N2°59′32″W / 51.1674°N 2.9921°W |
| Type | Motte and bailey |
Down End Castle, also known as Downend Castle, Chisley Mount or Chidley Mount, [1] 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.
Down End Castle was built at Down End, north of Dunball in Somerset, England. [2] The castle has a motte and bailey design, with the two baileys lying to the north of the motte; the inner bailey has one bank and the outer one a double bank. [3] The mound measures 30 metres (98 ft) across the top, and may have exploited an existing Viking site. The castle was once fed water by a natural spring at the base of the motte. [4]
Recent academic work has suggested that the castle was built around 1100, after the surrounding region of Somerset had become stable in the years following the Norman invasion of England and the subsequent Anglo-Saxon rebellion against Norman rule. [5] The location Down End was strategically well placed, as the nearby Parrett is an important tidal river, essential for trade during the early medieval period. [6] The de Columbers were probably responsible for building the castle, which also enjoyed a good defensive position on a natural ridge, protected by several nearby streams; the family also built nearby Stowey Castle. [6] Norman and later pottery and iron objects were found during excavations in 1908; these match those found at the nearby castle of Neroche, also built around 1100. [7] [nb 1]
Down End became a new borough town in 1225, but may have existed as a settlement and port from 1159 onwards; the de Columbers were lords of the manor of nearby Puriton in the late 12th century. [9] After the creation of Bridgwater town and castle, however, Down End began to face fierce competition as a port: Bridgwater eventually became dominant and Down End went into decline. [10] Today only the earthworks remain, and the site is a scheduled monument. [11]
Puriton is a village and parish at the westerly end of the Polden Hills, in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,968. The local parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. A chapel on Woolavington Road was converted to a private house some 20 years ago. The parish includes the hamlets of Dunball and Down End.
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.
Polden Hills in Somerset, England are a long, low ridge, extending for 10 miles (16 km), and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract, known as the Somerset Levels. They are now bisected at their western end by the M5 motorway and a railway, the Bristol and Exeter Railway, part of the Great Western Main Line.
Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, William de Mohun constructed a timber castle on the site as part of the pacification of Somerset. A stone shell keep was built on the motte by the start of the 12th century, and the castle survived a siege during the early years of the Anarchy. At the end of the 14th century the de Mohuns sold the castle to the Luttrell family, who continued to occupy the property until the late 20th century.
Dunball is a small hamlet west of the village of Puriton and close to the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
King's Sedgemoor Drain is an artificial drainage channel which diverts the River Cary in Somerset, England along the southern flank of the Polden Hills, to discharge into the River Parrett at Dunball near Bridgwater. As the name suggests, the channel is used to help drain the peat moors of King's Sedgemoor. There was opposition to drainage schemes from the local inhabitants, who feared that they would lose their common grazing rights. However, the main channel was constructed between 1791 and 1795, and despite some defects, brought some relief from flooding to the area.
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.
Aslockton Castle is a ruined fortification, a motte-and-bailey castle, in the village of Aslockton, Nottinghamshire. The original name of the settlement was Aslachetone, which suggests a possible Norse origin; it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was described as a large settlement.
Bridgwater Castle was a castle in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
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.
Bishopton Castle was a medieval castle in Bishopton village, County Durham, England. The surviving motte is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Richmont Castle was an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle near the village of East Harptree, Somerset, England. Now totally ruined, it once included parkland, an artificial lake and served as the local minery court.
Cockroad Wood Castle was a castle near Wincanton but now in the parish of Charlton Musgrove, Somerset, England.
Ballands Castle was a castle near the village of Penselwood, Somerset, England.
Walter of Douai was a Norman knight, probably at the Battle of Hastings, and a major landowner in South West England after the Norman Conquest, being feudal baron of Bampton in Devon and of Castle Cary in Somerset. He is given various names and titles in different sources including: Walter de Douai. Douai is sometimes written as Dowai. He has also been called Gautier de Douai and later Walter the Fleming.
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 County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. 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.
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.