Hill House Motte And Bailey Castle |
| Hob Uid: 1433553 | |
Location :
Kirklees
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : SE1423718010 |
| Summary : Earthwork remains of a possible Medieval or earlier motte and bailey castle. A field inspection in 2004 supports the possibly that this is a motte and bailey castle with the bailey extending to the north. Beacon Street marks the line of the western rampart as the ground to its west is 2-3 metres lower. Its northern extent is probably marked by a break of slope between the rear of 2 King Cliffe Road and Hill House Methodist Church. The eastern extent is less clear but is possibly marked by Old Halifax Road. The mound survives to minimum height of 5 metres, but it has been truncated on all sides except for its frontage onto Beacon Street. This area, however, has been masked by soil dumping. The mound is tree covered and has the footings of a small brick building, possibly a greenhouse, on its southern flank. A section dug into the mound revealled a double rock cut ditch, remnants of a palisade wall and timber revetting. |
More information : Artificial mound marked as the "Mount" on early OS maps. Section cut by developer in 1987 revealed a double rock cut ditch, remnants of a palisade wall and timber revetting. SMR record states that "no dating evidence was found at the time of the observation but that the earthwork was confirmed to be medieval or earlier". There are no known documentary references to it being a castle.
Field inspection supports the idea that this is a motte and bailey castle with the bailey extending to the north. Many undocumented motte and bailey castles are known nationally. Beacon Street marks the line of the western rampart, the ground to its west being some 2-3 metres lower. The northern extent is probably marked by a break of slope between the rear of 2 King Cliffe Road and Hill House Methodist Church. The eastern extent is less clear but is possibly marked by Old Halifax Road.
The mound still survives to at least 5 metres in height but it has been truncated on all sides except for its frontage onto Beacon Street, thus preserving about a 45 degree slice of its entirety. However even this area is masked by dumping of soil. The mound is tree covered and has the footings of a small brick building, possibly a greenhouse, on its southern flank.
Due to the truncation of the mound and the housing in the area the site is not suitable for scheduling but should be taken into account for development control purposes. (1)
Possible site of a motte at Hill House (2) |