Details

The monument includes the 12th century Ascott d'Oyley motte and bailey castle,
its stone keep, the associated early bailey earthworks, later pond features
and associated walkways and part of the shrunken medieval village situated
around The Manor House, immediately south of the River Evenlode.
The motte survives as a small earthen and clay mound measuring 32m across and
standing up to 3m high. It has a 20m diameter flat summit on which can be seen
the open remains of a central tower, partly excavated in 1946, and consisting
of a 5m square room enclosed by walls between 2.5m and 3.5m thick. The exposed
inside walls of this tower are 0.8m high and of dry stone construction.
The excavations showed that the tower stands on the old ground level and that
the mound is built against it rather than the more usual method of building a
tower on the top of an artificial mound. A quantity of medieval pottery and
two arrowheads were also found in the tower. From documentary sources, which
support the excavated evidence, it is known that the castle was built between
1129 and 1150 and that the tower was deliberately demolished in c.1175. To the
south east of the motte stands an interrupted platform bounded by a broad
outer ditch. This has been interpreted as the remains of the original bailey.
The platform stands 1m high and is cut by a 3m wide ditch which runs south
from the mound. The main platform is a roughly square area measuring 28m from
east to west and 32m from north to south. A spur to the north measures 35m in
length and varies in width from 2.5m to 6m.
To the north and west of the motte is a series of earthworks contained within
an outer bank and ditch which enclose an area c.200m from south west to north
east and c.150m from north west to south east. This area represents the main
bailey. The inner bank of this bailey measures up to 10.6m across and stands
up to 0.7m high. The surrounding ditch measures up to 10m across and, although
partially infilled, is visible as a 0.3m deep feature. Beyond this is a
counterscarp bank which measures up to 5m across and stands up to 0.3m high.
Two ditches run from the north western and north eastern corners of the bailey
to the River Evenlode, forming an enclosed meadow along a 212m length of the
river bank.
To the west of this bailey is a series of low earthworks which represent the
house platforms of a medieval settlement outside the castle. These extend up
to a well established hedge line which marks a change in the ground level
beyond which the land is 0.2m lower. These earthworks represent part of the
village which was divided between two manors in the medieval period with the
other manor of Ascott Earl also possessing a motte and bailey castle, only
c.600m to the south west.
The bailey earthworks were altered at a later date to provide garden
earthworks for the manor. These include 6m wide banks which provide raised
walkways and a number of pond bays connected by a series of open ditches. Such
water garden earthworks are often associated with later medieval and early
post-medieval manors and houses.
The area of the bailey immediately west of the motte has been built over by
the farmyard of the later manor and includes a number of listed buildings
including: The Manor House (Grade II*), a doorway in the wall to the south
east of The Manor House (Grade II), the granary to the west of The Manor House
(Grade II) and a fragment of the castle to the north of The Manor House (Grade
II).
Excluded from the scheduling are the surface of the drive to The Manor House,
the boundary fences which separate the paddock and fields, the listed
buildings (except for the fragment of the castle which is included) and the
other standing buildings and their service trenches; the ground beneath all of
the above features is, however, included in the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

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.

The motte and bailey castle at Ascott d'Oyley is unusual in being one of a
pair of similar monuments to occur in close proximity, a factor which
contributed to the subsequent development of the surrounding settlement.
The monument survives well as a good example of its class with evidence for
its effect on the development of the medieval village, part of which is
included within the monument, and the later reuse of the outer bailey as an
area of formal gardens associated with The Manor House. Partial excavation of
the site has provided support for its documented history as well as
demonstrating the survival of archaeological remains relating to the monument,
the landscape in which it was built and the economy of its inhabitants.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Oxfordshire: Volume I, (1939), p 321
The Victoria History of the County of Oxfordshire, (1964), p 321
The Victoria History of the County of Oxfordshire, (1964), p 321
Jope, E M, Threlfall, , 'Antiquities Journal' in Ascott D'Oyley Castle, , Vol. XXXIX3-4, (1959), pp270-3
Jope, E M, Threlfall, , 'Antiquities Journal' in Ascott D'Oyley Castle, , Vol. XXXIX3-4, (1959)
Jope, E M, Threlfall, , 'Antiquities Journal' in Ascott D'Oyley Castle, , Vol. XXXIX3-4, (1959)
Wood, M E, 'Archaeological Journal Supplement' in Thirteenth Century Domestic Architecture in England, , Vol. CV 1950, (1950)
Other
List 1691, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, LISTED BUILDINGS OF WEST OXFORDSHIRE, (1989)
LIST 1691, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, LISTED BUILDINGS: WEST OXFORDSHIRE, (1989)
PRN OXON 1532, C.A.O., Motte and Bailey Castle, (1991)
PRN OXON 3190 & 3191, C.A.O., Ascott Earl Motte and Bailey Castle, (1991)
PRN OXON 3956 note 1, C.A.O., Manor House, (1991)
PRN OXON 3956, C.A.O., Manor House, (1991)
SP 31 NW 2, R.C.H.M.(E), Manor, (1976)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Series
Source Date: 1976
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Sheet SP 31 NW
With IAM A.J. SCHOFIELD, JEFFERY, P.P., DISCUSSION ON SITE, (1993)

Source: Historic England