Bradfield Castle Hill

In the civil parish of Bradfield.
In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of Sheffield, 1974 county of South Yorkshire).

Rocky ridge at the head of a towering escarpment. A small area seems to have been occupied by a partial ring-work, but the whole has been much mutilated. Salter writes later stone castle. PastScape report reads "Medieval motte or ringwork, possible a siege castle visible as an earthwork. The motte,which has an average height of 4m, merges with the steep scarp of the ridge in the south. Its sides have been extensively quarried, and the top has been mutilated. No traces of buildings are now visible, though it is said that the keep was still visible in 1819." If this keep was medieval then this is clearly not a siege work.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle
Siege Work.
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 SK27109233

PastScape number; 312710

Books

Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p26
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p514
Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield)
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p26-7
Hunter, 1869 (2edn), History and Topography of Sheffield (London) p460-1

Journal Articles

Birch, J., 1980, ‘Castle Hill, Bradfield’ Archaeological Journal Vol137 p458-9
Birch, J., 1980, 'The castles and fortified houses of South Yorkshire' Archaeological Journal Vol137 p374-6
Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol33 p106-12
Watson, 1779, Archaeologia Vol5 p92

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Bradfield Castle Hill

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK27109233

Sources of information, references and further reading