Details

The monument includes a motte and bailey castle situated on high ground, known
as Castle Tump. The castle was granted temporarily to William de Braose
between 1148 and 1154 by Roger, Earl of Hereford. The motte was considered to
be a meeting place for Botloes Hundred.
The visible remains include the large mound of the motte, with the flattened
area of the bailey surrounding it and extending to the south. The motte stands
to about 14m, and has a flattened top about 8m in diameter. There are no signs
of any structures on top of the mound, although these will survive as buried
features. About 6m from the base of the motte on its north side is a bank
generally about 1m high, but rising to 2m high in places, which now forms a
field boundary. This was the boundary of the bailey on this side. The bailey
follows the field boundary around to the south shelving off sharply beyond
this. On the south side the change in levels between the bailey and the land
outside is about 2.5m, and the bailey appears to have been terraced. It is
reported that a double bank on the line of the bailey was removed in 1946-47.
About 5m from the base of the motte on its north west side is a pond 15m long,
3m wide and about 0.7m deep, thought to be spring fed, which may be the
remains of the moat which would have encircled the motte.
A number of features are excluded from the scheduling; these are post and wire
fences, the brick wall bounding the property on the west side and the cement
and post and wire fence above it, although the ground beneath all these
features is included.
The house and extensions known as `Castle Tump' and its surrounding garden and
outbuildings are not included in the scheduling.

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.

The motte and bailey castle known as Castle Tump survives well as an
impressive monument. Motte and bailey castles such as this proliferated after
the Norman Conquest, and their distribution marks the progress of the Norman
campaigns in the years after the Conquest. In addition, the earthworks of the
castle will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence
relating to its construction, the way of life of the inhabitants, and will
preserve evidence of changes in the use of the site over time.

Source: Historic England