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Motte and bailey castle 650m NNW of Sandpoint Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Kewstoke, North Somerset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.3894 / 51°23'21"N

Longitude: -2.9695 / 2°58'10"W

OS Eastings: 332638.771041

OS Northings: 166039.496427

OS Grid: ST326660

Mapcode National: GBR J6.RRSW

Mapcode Global: VH7CC.HB0R

Entry Name: Motte and bailey castle 650m NNW of Sandpoint Farm

Scheduled Date: 15 October 1976

Last Amended: 16 February 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1008114

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22828

County: North Somerset

Civil Parish: Kewstoke

Traditional County: Somerset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Somerset

Details

The monument includes a motte and bailey castle situated on the crest of a
coastal promontory overlooking Sand Bay 650m NNW of Sandpoint Farm.
The motte, known variously as Castle Mound and Castle Batch, is an artificial
mound c.30m in diameter and c.2m high. It is situated within the south-west
area of the monument and is surrounded by a rock-cut ditch c.8m wide from
which material was quarried during its construction. The ditch is visible on
the eastern side of the motte as an earthwork c.1.5m deep; elsewhere it
survives as a buried feature.
Adjacent to the motte is the bailey. This feature is defined by the ditch
surrounding the motte in the west and the steep natural slopes of the hill to
the south and north. To the east it is defined by the extent of visible
earthworks. Numerous building platforms, some surviving to a height of
c.0.5m, are visible in this area of the monument. The eastern area of the
bailey has been partly disturbed by military activity, possibly dating from
the Second World War.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain
by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the
motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte and
bailey castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their
immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive
monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape.
Over 600 motte castles or motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally,
with examples known from most regions. As one of a restricted range of
recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for
the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although
many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to
be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they
were superseded by other types of castle.

Despite partial disturbance during World War Two, the motte and bailey castle
650m NNW of Sandpoint Farm survives comparatively well and will contain
archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the
landscape in which it was constructed. The site is unusual in being
positioned on a coastal promontory.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Mention of the names of the site, Mention of the names of the site,
Mention of Tudor associations/map, National Trust Archaeological Record,

Source: Historic England

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