Bardsey Castle Hill

In the civil parish of Bardsey Cum Rigton.
In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of Leeds, 1974 county of West Yorkshire).

Medieval motte and bailey castle. Excavations in 1902 located a stone keep and pottery dating to the late C12-early C13, human remains also recovered. The castle is thought to have been constructed by Adam de Bruce. The motte is of unusual form, consisting of two roughly rectangular platforms on an east to west alignment joined by a central causeway. Ditches flank the causeway, which is circa 8m wide. The motte itself measures 100m long by circa 30m wide and varies between 1 and 2m high.Partial excavations in the late C19 and in 1930 revealed the foundations of a square stone keep and late C12 to early C13 pottery. The motte is situated at the centre of a flat oval bailey.

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 SE36604333

PastScape number; 53111

Books

Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p19
Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p16
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p513
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p124
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p25-6
Whitaker, T.D., 1816, Loidis and Elmete (Leeds) p160 [plan only]

Journal Articles

Clark, 1879-80, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol6 p109

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Bardsey Castle Hill

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE36604333

Sources of information, references and further reading