Dorstone Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Dorston

In the civil parish of Dorstone.
In the historic county of Herefordshire (Modern Authority of Herefordshire, 1974 county of Hereford and Worcester).

Remains of a motte and bailey, extant circa 1390. The site was seen as earthworks and mapped from aerial photographs. The motte is oval in shape, 67yds by 61yds across the base; it has a flat top rising to about 28ft above the bottom of the surrounding dry ditch which has an outer bank towards the stream. The kidney -shaped bailey adjoins the motte ditch on the north east and has remains of a ditch on its south side.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO31224165

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 106116

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1559

• Web site links
  • http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/dorstone_castle.htm
    http://www.castlewales.com/dorstone.html
• Books
  • Prior, Stuart, 2006, A Few Well-Positioned Castles: The Norman Art of War (Tempus) p110-164
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p476
    Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p26
    Shoesmith, Ron, 1996, Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p103 [slight]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p205
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p220
    RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. Vol1: south-west p.xxxv, 57
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p148
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hereford Vol1 p236 [Plan]
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p101
    Robinson, Rev C.J., 1867, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (Logaston Press, 2002 reprint) p42-3
• Journal Articles
  • Bradley, J. and Gaimster, M., 2003, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2002' Medieval Archaelogy 47 p251-68
    Sterling Brown, R., 1988, 'Preliminary Results of Castle Survey' Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol50 p41
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p225