York Baile Hill

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; The Old Baile; Baille Hill

In the civil parish of York.
In the historic county of Yorkshire Ainsty & York (Modern Authority of York, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Motte and bailey built 1068-9 by William the Conqueror and rebuilt in 1069. Originally it consisted of a circular mound, surrounded by a ditch, with a quadrangular yard of 3 acres on the south west side. Excavations have revealed the remains of C12 buildings on the top of the Motte. The Motte survives to an average height of 7.7m and was raised in post-Medieval times. Motte on other side of river to Clifford Tower, of original buildings on motte there are no remains visible.

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 SE60265126

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; 58154

• Web site links
  • http://www.york.gov.uk/walls/11th/baille.html
    http://www.castlegate.net/castles/YORK/index.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/105/yorkmotte.htm
    http://www.norman-world.com/angleterre/Patrimoine_architectural/Angleterre/Castles/york/york1.htm
• Books
  • Wilson, B. and Mee, F., 2005, The city walls and castles of York: the pictorial evidence (York: York Archaeological Trust - The archaeology of York supplementary series; 1/3)
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p114, 116
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p44 [mention]
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p282-5
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p20, 60, 154, 358
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p529
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p321
    Harvey, J., 1975. York. (London: Batsford)
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    RCHME, 1972. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York, 2: The Defences (London, HMSO) p87-9
    Garlick, Tom, 1972, Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p27
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p889
    Tillott, P.M. (ed), 1961, VCH York, City of York p528-9
    Raine, 1955, Mediaeval York (London) p23-5
    Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p117-18
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p242, 248-50
    Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH York Vol2 p44
    Cooper, T.P., 1904, York, the Story of its Walls, Bars and Castles (London) esp p215-38
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p277-8
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p534-48
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p169
• Journal Articles
  • Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Addyman, P.V. and Priestley, J., 1977. 'Five castle excavations: reports on the Institute’s research project into the origins of the castle in England. Baile Hill, York: a report on the Institute's excavations' Archaeological Journal Vol134 p115-56
    Addyman, P.V., 1970 'Excavations at Baile Hill, York' Château Gaillard Vol5 p7-12
    (Addyman), 1970, Medieval Archaeology Vol14 p177
    Addyman, P.V., 1969, 'York - Baille Hill motte' Current Archaeology Vol2 p25-6
    Addyman, P.V., 1969, Archaeological Journal Vol126 p178-9
    Addyman, P.V., 1968, Archaeological Journal Vol125 p307-8, 367-9
    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]
    Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol33 p106-12 [listed as seigework]
• Guidebooks
  • Butler, L.A.S., 1997, Clifford’s Tower and the Castles of York (English Heritage)
    Anon, 1987, Clifford’s Tower and the castles of York. (English Heritage)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Worcester Chronicle AD1067
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities30.htm]
    William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/yorkseng.html#yorks21]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p542