Widworthy Castle Hill

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

Motte castle, of possibly C12 date, sculptured from the natural hillside. The motte was created by the scarping of a natural irregularly-shaped knoll which sits on the top of the hill. The knoll, as modified, is sub-rectangular in shape, being near circular on its southern and eastern sides whilst the north and north west sides are nearly straight, measuring about 31m and 27m in length respectively. The apex of the knoll has been flattened to provide a platform about 35m across. The resulting platform is about 5m in height with no encircling bank. It slopes at a 45 degree angle on all sides to a ditch which survives as a faint trace, with a width of about 3m. It is suggested that may date from the second major period of motte construction, during the civil wars of King Stephen's reign in the 1130s and 1140s.

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 SY21269948

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; 449613

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) p87 [slight]
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p120
Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p613

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
Ramsden, J., 1947, 'The Hillfort and Castle Hill at Widworthy' Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol79 p193-96
1867, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol2 p373-4
1791, Gentleman's Magazine pt2 p608-11

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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