Baile Hill
Baile Hill is an artificial mound in York , England . It is the only remnant of the former Old Baile castle .
Baile Hill's origins date back to 1068. William the Conqueror had conquered York that year and had a castle built on the south side of the city, near the River Ouse . The following year, in response to a rebellion, he had another castle built on the other side of the river. There is no evidence as to which of the castles was built earlier, but it is believed that it was the site where York Castle was later built on the east bank of the river. Old Baile was then built on the west bank.
Like its counterpart, Old Baile was a moth whose castle mound was 12 meters high and 66 meters in diameter and surrounded by a large moat . A flight of stairs led to a wooden building on top of the castle hill, which was surrounded by a wooden fence. The outer bailey long northwest of the Motte and was rectangular. It was surrounded by an earth wall and an outer moat.
It is believed that this castle was not in use for long. It belonged to the Archbishop of York in the 13th century, and in 1322 Archbishop William Melton agreed to defend it in wartime. By 1340, parts of the city wall had been built along the south-east and south-west sides of Old Baile, including the pre-existing mound and moat, but these defenses were hardly ever needed. The only significant defense needs arose during the Siege of York in 1644, during the English Civil War , when Baile Hill was used as a gun post by the royalists . Apart from that, Old Baile was mainly used as pasture and for leisure activities, especially archery in the Middle Ages .
Today, Baile Hill is at the intersection of Baile Hill Terrace and Cromwell Road . The only other visible evidence of the earlier castle are two slight depressions in the ramparts of the city wall, one at Baile Hill and the other at Victoria Bar , which indicate the location of the former moat. Homes from the 1880s cover the rest of Old Baile.
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Coordinates: 53 ° 57 ′ 14.2 " N , 1 ° 4 ′ 58.5" W.