Hallaton Castle Hill Camp

In the civil parish of Hallaton.
In the historic county of Leicestershire (Modern Authority of Leicestershire, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

Medieval motte and bailey with an additional rectangular enclosure surviving as an earthwork. Excavation revealed `Norman' pottery, a quern stone, leather and wood objects and evidence of iron working. The conical motte is approximately 50m in diameter and 7.5m high from the bottom of the ditch, witha small flat area at the summit only a fewm across. The encircling ditch is up to 3m deep and 8m wide. The horse-shoe shaped bailey encloses an area of about 60m by 30m, and is bounded by a ditch up to 2m deep and 5m wide and an inner bank up to 2m high.An additional rectangular enclosure on the north of the motte, 35m by 25m, is defined by a ditch which survives in places to a depth of 0.75m. On the south side of the motte is a further ditch 5m wide with a bank 8m wide and 0.75m high which projects south for 40m. A series of depressions on the summit of the motte are the result of C19 excavations. Unusually 600m from church, the chosen site is defensive but overlooked to the west; however orientated to be very visible from the old Leicester way so perhaps sited for status display as much as for defence.

This site has been described as a;
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 SP780967

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 344012

Books

Cantor, Leonard, 2003, The Scheduled Ancient Monument of Leicestershire and Rutland (Leicester: Kairos Press) p33
Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p36
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p138
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p253
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p238
Hoskins, W.G., 1949, Midland England (Batsford) p55
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p88
Thompson, A. Hamilton, 1912, Military architecture in England during the Middle Ages (OUP) p51
Wall, 1907, in Page, Wm, (ed), VCH Leicestershire Vol1 p212, 359-260

Journal Articles

Creighton, O.H., 1997, 'Early Leicestershire Castles: Archaeology and Landscape History' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol71 p31-2, 34
Cantor, Leonard, 1977-8, 'The Medieval Castles of Leicestershire' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol53 p36
Braun, Hugh, 1937, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol1 p140, 155
Gould, I.C., 1901, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol7 p32-3
1891, Leicestershire and Rutland notes and queries Vol1 p170-176
Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' Archaeological Journal Vol46 p207
Hill, J.H. and Dibbin, H.A., 1882, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol5 p72, 75-6
Dibbin, H.A., 1876-78, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London Vol7 p316-321 [unprofitable excavation report]
Thompson, J., 1863, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol1 p211

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