Millsome Castle

Reasons for Designation

Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey, adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bai1ey castles acted as garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape. Over 600 motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from most regions. Some 100-150 examples do not have baileys and are classified as motte castles. As one of a restricted range of recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other types of castle.

Millsome Castle survives well and contains archaeological information relating to Norman military activity in this part of Devon.

Details

The monument includes a medieval motte on a natural rise above the valley of the River Taw, and has commanding views over the surrounding countryside. The monument survives as an oval mound which measures 49m from north to south and 43m from east to west at its base, and is 9m high. To the north there is a section of ditch which measures 15m wide and up to 3m deep. This peters out to the south at both the western and eastern sides of the mound where it is preserved as a buried feature. The motte is thought to date to the mid-1100s.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

30304

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS60NE13, (1992)

End of official list entry