| Summary : A motte and bailey castle situated on an inland spur overlooking valleys to tributaries of the River Torridge to the east, south and west. The castle has a circular motte with its outer ditch, a D-shaped bailey with its rampart and ditch, and an outer bank or rampart. The motte is circular in shape with a diameter of 33 metres, and is 6.4 metres high. The mound itself has slumped slightly to the south and this has caused the part infilling of the ditch. Surrounding the motte is a ditch which measures 3.6 metres wide and varies in depth from 0.4 metres on the eastern side to 1.2 metres on the west. The D-shaped bailey is defined by a rampart, and this encloses an area which measures 37.2 metres long from north to south and 25.6 metres wide from east to west. The rampart of the bailey survives on all sides, although it has been cut in several places to facilitate access. The ditch surrounding the bailey measures up to 4.4 metres wide by 1.2 metres deep. Beyond the ditch is an outer rampart which measures up to 6 metres wide and 0.6 metres high. Scheduled. |
More information : (SS 42981253) Durpley Castle (NR). (1)
Listed under "Camps and Settlements". (2)
Durpley Castle motte and bailey, (see plan) built on top of a high conical hill, is almost inaccessible, except to the west. On this side is the entrance into the ditch, but the gateway to the bailey is towards the south, thus allowing no direct entry. The motte, 18 ft high, has a crater-like hollow in its centre nearly 30 ft diameter and 12 ft deep. (3)
Durpley Castle (name confirmed) is a Medieval earthwork situated in woodland on a steep spur overlooking a small tributary which flows into the Combe lake stream. It consists of a motte on the east side and a bailey enclosed by a bank and ditch (see plan). The overall dimensions of the castle are 90.0m by 65.0m.
The diameter of the motte is approximately 46.0m and its height averages 3.8m from the surrounding ditch which averages 0.6m deep. In the top of the motte is a large circular pit, 9.0m in diameter and 1.4m deep. The bailey measures approximately 40.0m x 25.0m, with an outer bank averaging 2.2m in height externally and 0.7m internally.
There is no staggered entrance as implied by Wall, but a direct causeway and simple break into the bailey on the southwest. Some desultory quarrying has taken place along the north side of the bailey but generally this small, and probably adulterine, castle is in fair condition.
Surveyed at 1:2500 on PFD. (4)
Scheduled listing. (5)
Listed by Cathcart King. (6) |