More information : (Centred at TL 59481791) The Mount (GT) Site of keep (GT) Site of Castle (GT). (1)
Mount and bailey castle. Well preserved. Origin doubtful but probably one of the castles of the de Veres, Earls of Oxford.
Large moated mount with horse-shoe shaped bailey on south side and traces of a weaker enclosure on the W side. The moats are fed by a small stream which could be reinforced by closing the dam on the E side of the mount and diverting water from the River Roding into the moats. Mount 48ft high and 280ft in diameter at the base from E to W - has a distinct berm. (2-3)
Motte in good condition - tree covered. Bailey in good condition - interior used as a field. Both correct as shown on 6" field sheet.
The bank (TL 5954 1797) shown previously to the E of the keep on the far side of the stream has been ploughed out and is only traceable by a small elevation across the field and by light discoloration of the soil - too weak to show with slopes. The weak ditch on the W side (TL 5935 1785) has been ploughed out and is only represented by a slight lingitudinal hollow and light soil discoloration - too weak to show with slopes. The counterscarp outside the bank on the SE side of the stream (TL 5957 1785) has been obliterated. The moat on the SW side of the bailey centred TL 5943 1783 is now permanently dry. The only parts of the moat which are wet are those occupied by the active stream bed. (4)
The Mount:-(name verified) a motte and single bailey situated on the edge of the R Roding flood plain on gentle W rising ground.
The motte is tree planted with later concentric land-scaped terraces. A circular earthen mound (c 7.0m diameter) on the level summit appears modern. The moat formerly surrounding the motte is dry, but modern detail and the plough have destroyed the course of the eastern bank.
The bailey bank and enclosure are under scrub and light forestation. The surrounding moat is dry and its course well defined, but the external ditch shown on the OS 25" on the E side has largely been destroyed by plough.
To the W of the complex, around The Hall, is the fragmentary remains of a probable homestead moat which is contiguous to the motte and bailey moat. The Hall dates to the 16th c, but is modernised and not outstanding. There is no trace of a former structure within the grounds, but local tradition asserts that an earlier house existed.
Published survey 25" re-surveyed. (5)
TL 595179. Canfield Castle. Scheduled no. 14. (6)
Recorded as extant in the period 1154-1216, at which time it was in the possession of the Earls of Oxford. (7)
Listed by Cathcart King. (8) |