Brailes Castle Hill Motte

In the civil parish of Brailes.
In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Warwickshire, 1974 county of Warwickshire).

Earthwork and buried remains of a motte castle, known as Castle Hill Motte. In the early to mid-C12 Brailes was part of the domain of Robert Newburgh, Earl of Warwick, and the construction of the castle has been attributed to him. The motte is sited on a natural knoll whose summit has been reshaped to some extent and artificially raised to create the flat-topped mound. It measures 24m across its top with traces of a low bank around its outside edge and is surrounded by a 2.5m wide ditch. The motte stands on an oval-shaped platform which has been formed by modifying the sides of the hill to create a levelled area around the motte. Immediately to the north, west and south west is a further terraced area which, together with the platform, are believed to have formed a series of outworks around the motte and will have provided a fairly sophisticated means of access to the mound itself.

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 SP30774007

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; 335226

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 2311

Web site links
- http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA2311
Books
- Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p263 [slight]
  Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p31
  Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p20
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p481
  Salzman, L.F. (ed), 194?, VCH Warwickshire: Vol5 p18
  Willoughby Gardner, 1904, in Doubleday, H.A. and Page, Wm (eds), VCH Warwickshire Vol1 p358-9
Journal Articles
- Chatwin, P.B., 1947-8, 'Castles in Warwickshire' Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol67 p11-12

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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