Castle Hills |
| Hob Uid: 57913 | |
Location :
North Yorkshire
Selby
Drax
|
| Grid Ref : SE6760326018 |
| Summary : A medieval moated site now occupied by Castle Hill Farm. The site is reputed to be that of Talleville castle built after 1139 by Philip de Colville. The castle was adulterine and was one of those ordered to be destroyed by Stephen in 1154 under the terms of a treaty with Henry of Anjou. There is a 1278 documentary reference to a garden on the site of the manor, but by 1405 the site was recorded as being worthless due to flooding and in 1421 it was assessed as being worth 3 shillings and four pence in herbage. The monument is typical of a nobleman's moated manor house of the 12th to 13th centuries, with a 55 metre square island raised above the level of the surrounding fields with material from a deep encircling moat ditch. On the outside of the moat ditch there is a substantial encircling bank, up to 15 metres wide, which would have typically derived from material dredged from the dicth after the initial construction. The entire circuit of the moat ditch survives as an earthwork except in the north eastern part of the monument where it survives as an infilled feature. The moated island is now occupied by a farm house and a number of outbuildings and other farm buildings, one of which has been converted into domestic accommodation. On the south side of the island there is a slight earthwork depression which is interpreted as a fishpond. Scheduled. |
More information : [SE 676260] Castle Hills [NAT]. On site of Castle [NR]. (1)
In the summer of 1154 the Castle of Drax was destroyed by King Stephen. (2)
Resurveyed at 1:2500. A well-defined dry moated enclosure now occupied by modern farm buildings. It is a typical homestead moat, more likely to be 14th century and manorial than connected with a 12th century Castle. (which would probably have been a motte). (3)
Condition unchanged. (4)
SE 676260. Castle Hills, a raised rectangular moat site with
ditches, best on the south side. Originally the Talleville castle
but in 1278 there was a garden 'on the site of the manor'. In 1405 it was worth nothing because flooded and in 1421 it was described as a waste site. (5) Listed by Renn (6). (5-6)
SE 676 260. Moated site south of Drax. Scheduled. (7)
(SE 676 260). Moat (NR). (8)
The moat ditch and surrounding bank described by previous authorities was seen as earthworks on air photographs taken in 1984. The fishpond to the south was also recorded. Within the moated enclosure a smaller platform is defined in the south east corner, approximately 36m by 32m. This could represent some kind of functional land division within the moated enclosure. (9) |