Lingen Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; The Churchyard

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

Earthwork remains of a Motte and baileys situated to the immediate north of the church. It consists of a roughly circular motte with a large bailey on the west Side. The motte is around 19.2m in diameter at the top and it rises circa 6.7m above the bottom of a dry ditch. It is roughly level on the summit though the north east portion is slightly higher. The bailey on the west is roughly square and has remains of an inner rampart with traces of a deep ditch on the south and west. On the south side a second rampart forms a bank to the moat. There are traces of a curtain wall around the bailey. The western defences can now hardly be traced. There is evidence to suggest that a shell keep with a gatehouse on the West Side may have once existed on this site. The site is now under pasture but the features remain clearly visible and in good condition. Adjacent to the castle on the north side are the earthwork remains of a medieval village. Lingen Castle and its associated village is an excellent example of a planned Welsh Borders Norman settlement with its castle, church and fossilised village still present today. This large and elaborate earthwork stands in the church yard, and is mostly made up of a natural hill (upon which the church also stands) which has been landscaped for defensive use. Trace of curtain wall around bailey. The name `The Churchyard' is applied to both castles in Lingen parish. It seems to be most often applied to the ringwork which is isolated and not near a Church, it is less often applied to the motte and bailey which makes up the actual churchyard of Lingen parish church.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry 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 SO36586727

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; 106359

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1669

• Web site links
  • http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/lingencastle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p47
    Shoesmith, Ron, 1996, Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p103 [slight]
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p230-1
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p208
    Pevsner, N., 1963, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire (Harmondsworth)
    RCHME, 1934, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. Vol3: north-west p.xxviii, 136
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hereford Vol1 p241-2
    Robinson, Rev C.J., 1867, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (Logaston Press, 2002 reprint) p63-6 [history of owners only]
• Journal Articles
  • Sterling Brown, R., 2005, 'Field trip to Lingen and Pedwardine' Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol76 p26-36
    Lowe, Ros, Archaeological Research Section Woolhope NFC, 1998, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol69, 32
    Halliwell, P.R. (ed), 1992, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol57, 22
    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
    Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol33 p106-12 [listed as successor to Lingen Ringwork ]