Durpley Castle, Shebbear

In the civil parish of Shebbear.
In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).

Motte and bailey castle situated on an inland spur overlooking valleys to tributaries of the River Torridge to the east, south and west. The castle has a circular motte with its outer ditch, a D-shaped bailey with its rampart and ditch, and an outer bank or rampart. The motte is circular in shape with a diameter of 33m, and is 6.4m high. The mound itself has slumped slightly to the south and this has caused the part infilling of the ditch. Surrounding the motte is a ditch which measures 3.6m wide and varies in depth. The D-shaped bailey is defined by a rampart. The rampart of the bailey survives on all sides, although it has been cut in several places to facilitate access. The ditch surrounding the bailey measures up to 4.4m wide by 1.2m deep. Beyond the ditch is an outer rampart.

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 SS42981253

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; 32956

Books

Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p59
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p64 [slight]
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p119
Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England (London) p405-6
Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p620-21

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
Higham, R.A., 1982, 'Early Castles in Devon' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p101-116
Oliver, B., 1948, 'Some Notes on Shebbear and Durpley Castle' Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol60 p215-23
Parry, 1867, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol2 p104-5

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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