Montacute Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; St Michaels Hill; Biscopeston; Bishopstone

In the civil parish of Montacute.
In the historic county of Somerset (Modern Authority of Somerset, 1974 county of Somerset).

St Michael's Hill is an isolated natural knoll that has been artificially sculpted to create impressive defensive earthworks. The occupation of this prominent landform dates from at least C11 and the principal earthwork is a substantial motte created from the upper part of the knoll. This conical mound is flanked on the west side by a stong bank and ditch and it is almost completely enclosed by a broad terrace. The origin of the terrace is unclear but it may have been created to support an annular bailey. A substantial horseshoe-shaped bailey, situated on the south-eastern side of the knoll, has a deep ditch and partial inner bank which cuts across the line of the broad terrace. Mentioned in Domesday. The castle was apparently constructed of stone although this may have been preceded by a timber structure. The castle had lost its military signficance by 1102. A chapel (which may once have been part of the castle) was still in use in C14.

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 ST49351699

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; 193150

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 54297

• Web site links
  • http://www.montaguemillennium.com/Research/h_1068_castle.htm
    http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=54297
• Books
  • Prior, Stuart, 2006, A Few Well-Positioned Castles: The Norman Art of War (Tempus) p68-109
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p78
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p225 [slight]
    Dunning, Robert, 1995, Somerset Castles (Somerset Books) p40-42 [plan]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p443
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p262
    Dunning, R.W. (ed), 1974, VCH Somerset Vol3 p210, 215
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Burrow, Edward J., 1924, Ancient Earthworks and Camps of Somerset (Cheltenham and London) p120
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p169-71
    Bothamley, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Somerset Vol2 p515-6
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p62-3
• Journal Articles
  • Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Adkins, L. Adkins, R.A., 1989, 'Excavation on St. Michael's hill' Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol133 p125-9
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p309
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    Turner, A.G.C., 1950, 'Notes on some Somerset place-names' Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol95 p120-1
    Armitage, E., 1904 April, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' The English Historical Review Vol74 p238-9
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/dorseteng.html#somerset4]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p419-20
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p157-8