More information : A motte at Ryton is situated in the corner of a field, bounded on two sides by a steep drop down to the River Worfe (Nat
Grid ref SJ 761029). The bailey is well-defined on the E side by a wide ditch, but on the S side it has been partly destroyed by the development of a 19th c garden. The subsoil is red sandstone.
An excavation carried out in 1959 was of an exploratory nature, and revealed a ditch around the mound approximately 10ft 6in deep and some 12 to 15ft wide at the top. Finds from the ditch section consisted of four Md sherds and a quantity of 18th and 19th c pieces. The field within which the site lies was known in 1841 as Castle Hillfield. (1)
SJ 76010292. Motte 3.0m high and circa 35.0m in diameter at the base with a flat top circa 8.0m in diameter on which is a large dead tree. There are traces of a ditch on the SE side. The 'wide ditch on the E side' probably refers to the natural gully or hollow way at SJ 76070293.
If there was a bailey it would probably have occupied the level area to the S of the motte. No remains could be positively identified
but a short length of scarp slope may have defined part of its E side.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (2)
Listed by Cathcart King. (3)
Reassessment of the motte, with a view to extending the constraint area if a bailey exists, found no evidence for a bailey. The ditch on the east side is a natural gulley, and landscaping makes it impossible to determine it elsewhere. The size of the motte probably means that it was only ever intended to support a watch tower. Normal planning controls should apply. (4) |