More information : The motte is very large, being 3/4 acre in area and 50 ft. high; whether it is artificial or formed of scarping a natural hill cannot be ascertained without excavation. There is no early Norman masonry on the motte: the keep was built by Earl Hamelin Plantagenet at the end of the 12th cent. (1)
The cylindrical keep is 86 ft. high and has six square buttresses extending its full height. It has five floor levels. There is only one entrance which is reached by a stone stairway of 33 steps - the wall at this place on the south face is 15 feet thick. On the fourth floor there is a chapel or oratory formed in the wall with a lavatory and piscina remaining in situ. Full architectural description. (2)
The talus of the wall projects 7 feet. The buttresses proper project 8 feet; their width against the circular wall is 14 ft. 6 ins. and at the face is 9 feet. (3)
The main castle buildings are set on a natural hill whose steep sides have been steepened further by scarping, and the cutting of a deep surrounding ditch.
The Keep, still largely intact, is a cylindrical tower with a splayed base, clasped by six wedge-shaped buttresses, also with splayed bases. These large buttresses are in effect turrets, and rise as such above the level of the Keep proper. The whole building is faced with very finely worked ashlar blocks of varying size regularly coursed, and between the buttresses dressed to the curve. [The internal arrangement is fully described.]
The Keep cannot be dated by documentary evidence, but the decorative mouldings in the Keep Chapel suggest a date of c. 1180-90, and its construction is attributed to Hamelin Plantagenet, holder of the castle from 1163 to 1202. (4)
The descriptions and dimensions above are correct. The keep is in a good state of repair and is centred at SK 5147 9890. The motte is an excellent example of its kind with very steep sides, turf covered with trees growing upon its northern and eastern sides. (5)
The preceding descriptions are correct. The sides of the motte have been considerably cleared of vegetation since 1953 and general restoration made to the keep. Work is still in hand by M.O.W. and it is understood that more clearance is planned in the future. The keep is open to the public throughout the year.
GPs 53/18/8 and 53/19/1. (6)
Condition unchanged, restoration of the fabric continues. (7)
Listed by Cathcart King. (8) |