Danby Castle Hill

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Castleton; Daneby

In the civil parish of Danby.
In the historic county of Yorkshire North Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Castleton village has a motte castle without a bailey. The Motte is horseshoe shaped and measures 200ft from the north east to south west by 160ft from north west to south east. the rampart, which carried the stockade, is still perfect on the western summit. Mentioned in documentary evidence in 1242 and described as a 'ruined peel' in 1336. An excavation undertaken in 1988 revealed post holes, post pads and a cobbled yard, all of uncertain date.

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 NZ68830816

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 27885

Books

Jackson, M.J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire (Carlise) p18, 20
Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p28
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p515
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p162
Smith, A.H., 1969, Place Names of Yorkshire, North Riding p131
Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield)
Page, Wm (ed), 1923, VCH York, North Riding Vol2 p333-4
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p45
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p211-2
Atkinson, J., 1891, Forty Years in a Moorland Parish p280-3
Atkinson, 1874-7, History of Cleveland Vol1 p263-4
Whellan T, 1859, History and Topography of the City of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol2 p782-3

Journal Articles

1992, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol64 p41-7
1989, Medieval Archaeology Vol33 p221
King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
I'Anson, W.M., 1913, 'The castles of the North Riding' Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol22 p337-40 [plan]

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