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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 By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.
New Radnor is a village in Powys, Wales, to the south of Radnor Forest, and was the county town of Radnorshire.
Abergavenny Castle is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun c. 1087. It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked during the early 15th-century Glyndŵr Rising. William Camden, the 16th-century antiquary, said that the castle "has been oftner stain'd with the infamy of treachery, than any other castle in Wales."
Loughor Castle is a ruined, medieval fortification located in the town of Loughor, Wales. The castle was built around 1106 by the Anglo-Norman lord Henry de Beaumont, during the Norman invasion of Wales. The site overlooked the River Loughor and controlled a strategic road and ford running across the Gower Peninsula. The castle was designed as an oval ringwork, probably topped by wicker fence defences, and reused the remains of the former Roman fort of Leucarum.
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.
The remains of Aberedw Castle, also known as 'Castle in Elfael Uwch Mynydd', are located at the small village of Aberedw in the county of Powys, Mid-Wales. It was built in the late twelfth century and probably replaced the motte and bailey castle a few hundred metres away.
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.
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.
Watch Hill Castle is a medieval motte-and-bailey on the boundary of Bowdon and Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England. It is a scheduled monument. The castle is located north of the River Bollin and south of a deep ravine.
Rochdale Castle was a motte-and-bailey castle in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in the period shortly after the Norman conquest of England.
While there are many castles in South Yorkshire, the majority are manor houses and motte-and-bailey which were commonly found in England after the Norman Conquest.
Castell Gwallter, also known as Walter's Castle and sometimes Castell Penweddig, is the remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle situated on a large hill above the old village of Llandre in northern Ceredigion, Wales, four miles northeast of Aberystwyth.
Bleddfa Castle was a motte and bailey structure near Llangunllo in modern-day Powys, Wales. It is believed to have been built before 1195 and abandoned by 1304. What remains today is described as a "mutilated oval mound" of 46 by 36 metres, containing some traces of masonry. It is surrounded by a rectangular bailey measuring 100 by 60 metres, with a hedge on its northern border.
A bailey or ward in a fortification is a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one bailey. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology employed, ranging from simple enclosures to elaborate concentric defences. In addition to the gradual evolution of more complex castle plans, there are also significant differences in regional traditions of military architecture regarding the subdivision into baileys.
Barland Castle, also known as Bishopston Old Castle, was a motte-and-bailey castle located near the village of Old Radnor, in Radnorshire, Wales. It is believed to have been described in the Domesday Book under the ownership of Hugh L'Asne, who owned the nearby lands. An excavation took place in 1898, which found pottery shards and other artefacts dated to the late 12th to early 13th century. The name is suspected to have slowly changed over time, from "Bernoldune," to "Beraldon," "Barlondon" and finally "Barlonde." All that remains is a ditch and a stepped bank, which may contain tumbled remains of masonry; 19th century excavations showed evidence of a wooden palisade.
Buddugre Castle was a motte and bailey defensive fortification overlooking the River Ithon, located in the community of Llanddewi Ystradenny, in Radnorshire, Wales. It is believed to have been built as a defensive measure in the medieval period, during the 12th century, as a timber castle.
Whorlton Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated near the abandoned village of Whorlton in North Yorkshire, England. It was established in the early 12th century as a Norman motte-and-bailey associated with the nearby settlement. The castle is an unusual example of a motte-and-bailey that remained in use throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period.
Tregrug Castle or Llangibby Castle is a ruin in Monmouthshire, Wales, located about 1 mile (1.5 km) to the north of the village of Llangybi, close to the settlement of Tregrug.
Rhayader Castle is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Rhayader, Powys, Wales. The available documentary sources are not clear enough to distinguish between this site and the castle mound across the river and one or the other was probably built by Rhys ap Gruffydd, Prince of Deheubarth, in 1177. At that time the river formed the border between Gwrtheyrnion and the independent state of Buellt; the town of Rhayader is on the Gwrtheyrnion side of the river.
Granard Motte is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle and National Monument in Granard, County Longford, Ireland.
References
- ↑ Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire. The Club. 1915. p. 161.
- 1 2 King, David James Cathcart (1983). Castellarium Anglicanum: Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands. Kraus International. p. 565. ISBN 978-0-527-50110-5.
- ↑ Wiles, J. (12 January 2004). "Castle Nimble". Coflein. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
