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 By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.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 Norman 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.
Clare Castle is a high-mounted ruinous medieval castle in the parish and former manor of Clare in Suffolk, England, anciently the caput of a feudal barony. It was built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by Richard Fitz Gilbert, having high motte and bailey and later improved in stone. In the 14th century it was the seat of Elizabeth de Clare, one of the wealthiest women in England, who maintained a substantial household there. The castle passed into the hands of the Crown and by 1600 was disused. The ruins are an unusually tall earthen motte surmounted by tall remnants of a wall and of the round tower, with large grassland or near-rubble gaps on several of their sides. It was damaged by an alternate line of the Great Eastern Railway in 1867, the rails of which have been removed.
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.
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.
Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a medieval timber motte-and-bailey castle in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the original Montgomery Castle, and was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of the de Boulers (Bowdler) family, and it is from Baldwin de Boulers that Montgomery gets its Welsh name, Trefaldwyn "The Town of Baldwin". When the castle was rebuilt in stone (1223–1234), it was decided to rebuild it on a rocky promontory a mile to the south-east – the location of the current town of Montgomery, Powys. The Hen Domen site has been extensively excavated.
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.
Castell Moel is the remains of a 16th-century fortified manor house in the community of Llangain in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and also a medieval motte about 600 yards (550 m) to the south of the manor house. The remains are approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west Carmarthen and 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north-east of the village of Llangain. Three miles to the north-west is Carmarthen Castle, and five miles to the south-west is Llansteffan Castle.
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.
Rathmore, a village, civil parish and District electoral division in County Kildare, Ireland, is located at the western edge of the Wicklow Mountains in the barony of Naas North. The original settlement was at the southwest corner of the English Pale, serving an important function as a border fortress during the medieval period.
Granard Motte is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle and National Monument in Granard, County Longford, Ireland.
Kells Castle or Kells Motte is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument in Kells, County Kilkenny, Ireland.
St. Mary's Church, Mansfieldstown is a medieval church and National Monument in County Louth, Ireland.
Aghnaskeagh Cairns is a chambered cairn and portal tomb forming a National Monument in County Louth, Ireland.
Dún Dealgan Motte is a motte and National Monument in Dundalk, Ireland.
Mannan Castle is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument located in Donaghmoyne, Townland Tullynacross, on site of the Mannan Castle Golf Club, in County Monaghan, Ireland.
Castle Naghten is a motte and National Monument located in County Roscommon, Ireland.
Brian Boru's Fort, also called Béal Ború, is a ringfort and National Monument located in County Clare, Ireland.
