Hunsingore Hall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hall Orchard Hill

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

The remains of a medieval hall located on a raised river terrace overlooking the River Nidd at the southern end of the village of Hunsingmore. The monument occupies a knoll, the south and west sides formed by the natural lie of the land and the east side formed by a deep hollow way. The knoll has steep sides and a flat top which measures 80m by 60m. The foundations of the medieval hall survive as a sub-rectangular shaped earthwork up to 1.5m high in the centre of the site. The hall is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier defensive earthwork or motte commanding the ancient river crossing. Little is known of the early history of the monument. The manor of Hunsingore was granted to the Knights Templar preceptory at nearby Ribston in 1217 and it may be that the earliest defensive site was a castrum of the order.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE42855317

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; 55147

Books

King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p532 [possible]
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p207
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p45

Journal Articles

Butler, Lawrence, 1992, 'The Origins of the Honour of Richmond and its Castles' Chateau-Gallard Vol16 p69-80 [Reprinted in Liddiard, Robert, (ed), 2003, Anglo-Norman Castles (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)]
1883, The Yorkshire Archaeological and topographical Journal Vol8 p296
Clark, G.T., 1880, The Builder Vol38 p251

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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