| Summary : A medieval ringwork known as Croft Castle, located on a ridge overlooking the valley of the Bullow Brook to the south. The monument survives as an oval mound, although part of the rampart which originally enclosed the summit of the mound also remains. The ditch surrounding the mound is preserved mainly as a buried feature. The mound itself measures 45 metres from north east to south west and 42 metres from north west to south east. Where it has been cut to produce a platform for the village hall it is up to 2.7 metres high, but the arc which survives uncut, on the eastern side, is up to 4.5 metres high. A portion of the rampart which originally enclosed the hollow centre of the mound survives. It measures 7 metres wide at the top. The western side of the mound remains largely intact to a height of 2.7 metres, although the upper sections have been removed to facilitate the construction of the village hall. To the south, the mound has been cut to enable the construction of a stone-built retaining wall which prevents subsidence from the mound onto the public highway. The ditch which surrounds the mound is preserved largely as a buried feature. On the south eastern side the alignment of the public highway indicates the line of the ditch. A 6.7 metre wide vehicular access to the rear of the village hall follows the line of the ditch around the base of the mound from the north of the monument to the east. However, this feature is not as wide as the original ditch which extends into the garden of an adjacent property. The castle is thought to have been founded in the mid 1100s, possibly in opposition to the nearby Court Castle. The site, excluding the village hall, is Scheduled. |