More information : NZ 34601232 Tower Hill (NAT) Earthwork (NR) (1)
Tower Hill; motte and bailey. A partly natural mount, 20 ft high, with traces of scarping on the north and west sides and only faint remains of the bailey attached to it. Mr Wooler says that old labourers tell of the levelling of ramparts and the filling in of a ditch which once surrounded it. (2)
Earthwork consisting of a motte 22.0m in diameter 50.0m at the base and 5.5m high. No trace of any walling or foundations can be seen and around the perimeter is an asphalt path which has obliterated all traces of the surrounding ditch. Only some very slight slopes exist in the area to the north west where the bailey was probably situated but they are not sufficient to be called the remains of the bailey. (3)
Modern housing to the north-west has obliterated any possible traces of a bailey, otherwise no change. Published survey (25") correct. (4)
NZ 3460 1231. Tower Hill motte castle, 370m NE of Dinsdale Spa. Scheduled RSM No 20968. Dimensions as given by Auth 3 above. Tower Hill motte is very well preserved and a good example of a motte castle, a rare monument type in County Durham. (5)
Listed by Cathcart King. (6) |