Watch Hill Castle

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Grove of trees at Watch Hill Castle, 2009

Watch Hill Castle , also called Yarwood Castle , Castle Hill or Bowdon Watch , is a ruined castle on the border of the parishes of Bowdon and Dunham Massey in the English administrative unit of Greater Manchester . The early medieval moth is now a Scheduled Monument . As the only Scheduled Monument in Trafford , it is undoubtedly the most important archaeological site in the area. The moth lies north of the River Bollin and south of a deep ravine.

history

The excavation site has not found any evidence of an exact dating of the construction of this castle, but its wooden moth shape suggests it was built between the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and the 13th century. The lack of any documentary evidence about the castle is probably due to the short life of the wooden construction. Moths were quick to erect, but not necessarily long in use. A coin from the reign of Henry II (1154–1189) could be an indication that the castle was built at that time. The castle is believed to belong to Hamon de Massey , who was involved in the barons' rebellion against King Henry II in 1173 . During the 13th century, Watch Hill Castle was abandoned.

layout

Today only one mound of the moth, 40 meters in diameter at the base and 17 meters in diameter at the top and 6 meters in height, has survived. The mound is surrounded by a trench 5 meters wide and 3 meters deep . The courtyard was triangular, had a floor area of ​​about 2400 m² and was east of the mound. It was bordered with an earth wall and a wooden palisade on top. Part of the wall is still up to 0.3 meters high in some places. The north side of the castle courtyard was doubly protected, as there was a steep slope in addition to the earth wall, and the south side was protected by the river.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Watch Hill motte and bailey castle, 450m south of Streethead farm . Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  2. ^ A b c d e Norman Redhead: Watch Hill Castle in Mike Nevell (editor): The Archeology of Trafford . Trafford Metropolitan Borough and University of Manchester Archaeological Unit 1997. ISBN 1-870695-25-9 . P. 34.
  3. ^ A b c d Norman Redhead: Watch Hill Castle in Mike Nevell (editor): The Archeology of Trafford . Trafford Metropolitan Borough and University of Manchester Archaeological Unit 1997. ISBN 1-870695-25-9 . P. 35.
  4. ^ Watch Hill . Pastscape. Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

Web links and sources

Coordinates: 53 ° 22 ′ 11.5 "  N , 2 ° 22 ′ 43.9"  W.