NAR SO04NE2

A castle mount or motte, crowning the summit of a rocky ridge on the north side of the wooded gorge of the Edw. It is associated with events in the later thirteenth century, but probably established rather earlier. A great mansion or castle was built nearby in 1284-5 (NPRN 92384).
This is a steep sided roughly circular or oval mound some 30m in diameter and 5.1m high. It is ditched with a counterscarp bank except where it rests above the river gorge on the south. The summit, some 10m across, has been multilated and this has been taken to hint at the existence of a masonry tower.
The castle mount has been identified as a viewing platform (see NPRN 86194) and it is possible that it fulfilled this role in relation to the grounds of the later mansion.

John Wiles 01.08.07