Hobs Moat is a ruined 12th-century castle located to the west of Hobs Moat Road and north of Castle Lane in Olton in Solihull, England. The site is designated a scheduled ancient monument, however, only the earthworks remain above the ground level. [1] [2]
The prevailing theory is that the name 'Hobs Moat' is a corruption of 'Odingsells' Moat', so called because the founders of the castle were the de Odingsells, anciently written as 'Hoginsells', family. [1] [3]
Other suggestions have been put forward, such as that after the ruin of the castle, the site was a location for the practice of pannage – where pigs ('hogs' corrupted to 'hobs') could be sent to eat acorns. Another, more fanciful theory, suggests that prior to the construction of the castle, the site was locally believed to be home to Hobs – creatures of English folklore derived from the Cofgodas or "cove-gods" of Anglo-Saxon paganism. [4]
The castle is believed to have been constructed as the fortified manor house of Ulverli (today in Solihull) by the de Ogdinsells family. The family were believed to be of Flemish origin, with their heir marrying the grand daughter and heir of Ralph de Limesy, thereby inheriting the Lordship of the Manor of Ulverli. [5]
It is not exactly clear when the castle fell into ruin, but it is believed to have happened in the 14th century. Antiquary Sir William Dugdale would visit the site in 1656, finding only "a large Moat" and was informed by the locals that the castle there had long since been removed. Following the subinfeudation of the manor of Ulverli into the manor of Solihull, the Odingsells had built a new purpose built manor house closer to the new Solihull town centre, called Silhill Hall, at some point in the 13th century. [2] [6]
The site has been subject to numerous archaeological inspections, which have uncovered evidence for a collapsed sandstone wall, and suggested a late-13th-century date for its construction – pottery has been found at the site further affirming this date. The remains of the wall had been overlain by the base of a later structure.
Excavation, geophysical and field survey were carried out at Hob's moat between 1985 and 1986 and found a number of medieval buildings. In addition a late medieval/early post medieval shed-like structure was found indicative that the site had at one time been used for agriculture after the castle was ruined, however a later survey carried out in October 1997 by RCHME concluded that it was probably a hunting lodge. [3]
The castle would have stood on the remaining large rectangular earthwork platform, which is encased by a rampart, a wide ditch and a counterscarp bank. [7] The moat was spring-fed, with the northern boundary of the moat on a spring line. [3]
Immediately alongside the north side of Hob's Moat are the earthwork remains of a hollow way which is medieval in origin and is thought to have run westwards to connect Hob's Moat with Castle Lane. [8]
Edlingham Castle is a small castle ruin, having scheduled monument and Grade I listed building status, in the care of English Heritage. It is located in a valley to the west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It has been described as "...one of the most interesting in the county", by Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian. Edlingham itself is little more than a hamlet with a church alongside the castle.
Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, and situated at Stokesay in Shropshire. It was largely built in its present form in the late 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, on the earlier castle founded by its original owners the de Lacy family, from whom it passed to their de Verdun heirs, who retained feudal overlordship of Stokesay until at least 1317. Laurence 'of' Ludlow was one of the leading wool merchants in England, who intended it to form a secure private house and generate income as a commercial estate. Laurence's descendants continued to own the castle until the 16th century, when it passed through various private owners. By the time of the outbreak of the First English Civil War in 1642, Stokesay was owned by William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697), a supporter of King Charles I. After the Royalist war effort collapsed in 1645, Parliamentary forces besieged the castle in June and quickly forced its garrison to surrender. Parliament ordered the property to be slighted, but only minor damage was done to the walls, allowing Stokesay to continue to be used as a house by the Baldwyn family until the end of the 17th century.
Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years' War. Of quadrangular plan, Bodiam Castle has no keep, having its various chambers built around the outer defensive walls and inner courts. Its corners and entrance are marked by towers, and topped by crenellations. Its structure, details and situation in an artificial watery landscape indicate that display was an important aspect of the castle's design as well as defence. It was the home of the Dalyngrigge family and the centre of the manor of Bodiam.
White Castle, also known historically as Llantilio Castle, is a ruined castle near the village of Llantilio Crossenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford, it comprised three large earthworks with timber defences. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response King Stephen brought together White Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and Skenfrith to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.
Donnington Castle is a ruined medieval castle, situated in the small village of Donnington, just north of the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Sir Richard Abberbury the Elder in 1386 and was bought by Thomas Chaucer before the castle was taken under royal control during the Tudor period. During the First English Civil War the castle was held by the royalist Sir John Boys and withstood an 18-month siege; after the garrison eventually surrendered, Parliament voted to demolish Donnington Castle in 1646. Only the gatehouse survives. The site is a scheduled monument under the care of English Heritage.
Much Marcle is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, located 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Ross-on-Wye. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 660. The name Marcle comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for a boundary field, mearc-leah. Much, in this case, means large or great, from the Middle English usage of the word.
Kirby Muxloe Castle, also known historically as Kirby Castle, is a ruined, fortified manor house in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, England. William, Lord Hastings, began work on the castle in 1480, founding it on the site of a pre-existing manor house. William was a favourite of King Edward IV and had prospered considerably during the Wars of the Roses. Work continued quickly until 1483, when William was executed during Richard, Duke of Gloucester's, seizure of the throne. His widow briefly continued the project after his death but efforts then ceased, with the castle remaining largely incomplete. Parts of the castle were inhabited for a period, before falling into ruin during the course of the 17th century. In 1912, the Commissioners of Work took over management of the site, repairing the brickwork and carrying out an archaeological survey. In the 21st century, the castle is controlled by English Heritage and open to visitors.
Olton is an area/suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. In the 13th century, the Lords of the Manor moved their seat and formed a new settlement, at the junction of two major roads. It was then that Ulverlei was being referred to as ‘Oulton’ to distinguish itself from nearby Solihull. Historically within the county of Warwickshire, the village has gradually become contiguous with Solihull to the southeast, though it retains the character of a large independent village.
Wressle Castle is a ruined palace-fortress in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, built for Thomas Percy in the 1390s. It is privately owned and it is usually open to the public for a few days each year. Wressle Castle originally consisted of four ranges built around a central courtyard; there was a tower at each corner, and the structure was entered through a gatehouse in the east wall, facing the village.
Weeting Castle is a ruined, medieval manor house near the village of Weeting in Norfolk, England. It was built around 1180 by Hugh de Plais, and comprised a three-storey tower, a substantial hall, and a service block, with a separate kitchen positioned near the house. A moat was later dug around the site in the 13th century. The house was not fortified, although it drew on architectural features typically found in castles of the period, and instead formed a very large, high-status domestic dwelling. It was probably intended to resemble the hall at Castle Acre Castle, owned by Hugh's feudal lord, Hamelin de Warenne.
Solihull is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census, and its wider borough had a population of 216,240. The town is located 8 miles (12 km) southeast of Birmingham and 13 miles (21 km) west of Coventry.
Penhallam is the site of a fortified manor house near Jacobstow in Cornwall, England. There was probably an earlier, 11th-century ringwork castle on the site, constructed by Tryold or his son, Richard fitz Turold in the years after the Norman invasion of 1066. Their descendants, in particular Andrew de Cardinham, created a substantial, sophisticated manor house at Penhallam between the 1180s and 1234, building a quadrangle of ranges facing onto an internal courtyard, surrounded by a moat and external buildings. The Cardinhams may have used the manor house for hunting expeditions in their nearby deer park. By the 14th century, the Cardinham male line had died out and the house was occupied by tenants. The surrounding manor was broken up and the house itself fell into decay and robbed for its stone. Archaeological investigations between 1968 and 1973 uncovered its foundations, unaltered since the medieval period, and the site is now managed by English Heritage and open to visitors.
Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gardens and the medieval ruins of the fortified building. The castle was founded in 1229 by Maurice de Gaunt.
Penlle'r Castell is an historic ruin on the summit of Mynydd y Gwair in the far north of the City and County of Swansea. The Penlle'r Castell site was probably a late 13th-century stronghold garrisoned by one of the Marcher Lords.
Mettingham Castle was a fortified manor house in the parish of Mettingham in the north of the English county of Suffolk.
Cwm Cadnant is a community and former electoral ward in Anglesey, north Wales. Named after the local river, Afon Cadnant, which flows through it, the community takes in the area between the Menai Bridge and Beaumaris. The community includes the villages of Llandegfan, Hen Bentref Llandegfan and Llansadwrn as well as the settlement of Bryn-minceg and at the 2001 census it had a population of 2,222, increasing slightly to 2,254 at the 2011 census.
Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site 190 metres (620 ft) to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all that remains is a large fragment of sandstone wall. What remains of the estate is now an urban park, owned and run by Coventry City Council, but much of it was sold and developed into housing estates in the early 20th century.
Middleton Towers is a privately owned country house in Norfolk, England, near the village of Middleton and about 3 miles (5 km) east of King's Lynn. The hall is a Grade I listed building, and the adjacent earthworks are a scheduled monument. The building, within a moat, consists of a 15th-century gatehouse and a house of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Sedgwick Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Nuthurst, West Sussex, England. The castle dates to 1258 AD. The remains consist of wall fragments and earthworks. The site also includes two concentric ditches, ponds, and an outer enclosure. S. E. Winbolt led excavations at the castle in 1923 and 1924. Sedgwick Castle was established as a scheduled monument in 1933.
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 approximately 6000 moated sites in England, a large, fortified enclosure surrounded the moat.