Cockroad Wood Castle

Cockroad Wood Castle
Charlton Musgrove, Somerset
Motte of Cockroad Wood Castle
Cockroad Wood Castle is located in Somerset
Cockroad Wood Castle
Cockroad Wood Castle
Coordinates51°05′17″N 2°21′49″W / 51.0881°N 2.36374°W / 51.0881; -2.36374
Grid referencegrid reference ST746321
TypeMotte and bailey
Site information
ConditionEarthworks remain

Cockroad Wood Castle was a castle near Wincanton but now in the parish of Charlton Musgrove, Somerset, England.

History

Cockroad Wood Castle was a motte and bailey castle, probably built soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.[1] The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Ballands and Castle Orchard, and may have been built a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area.[1] By 1086 the surrounding land was held by Walter of Douai, although no documentary evidence of the castle remains.[2]

The castle was built with a motte and two baileys, running along a north–south ridge, with a possible entrance to the east.[2] The motte today is 13.5m wide, up to 7.5m high and is surrounded by a 1.25m deep ditch.[2] The two baileys were probably linked to the motte by wooden bridges.[2]

Today the castle site is a scheduled monument.

See also

Bibliography

  • Creighton, Oliver Hamilton. (2005) Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London: Equinox. ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8.

References

  1. ^ a b Creighton, p.62.
  2. ^ a b c d Motte and Bailey Castle, Cockroad Wood, Charlton Musgrove, Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.