Yorkshire's Secret Castles

A Concise Guide and Companion

Pen and Sword Books Ltd

Contents

ACKLAM

Acklam is a small village located roughly 6 miles due south of Malton and 14 miles northeast of York on the western slopes of the Yorkshire Wolds. It is surrounded by open farmland interspersed with woodland, with extensive views of the Vale of York from the Wolds escarpment to the east of the village. The area has been occupied since prehistoric times, as evidenced by finds from Bronze Age burials on nearby Acklam Wold. There are also Iron Age earthworks in the area and the land around it has been farmed for at least a thousand years. A Roman road that would have stretched from Brough (Petuaria) on the north bank of the Humber to Malton runs close to the village. And on the western edge of a ridge that rises above Acklam beck are the silted-down remains of a former motte and bailey fortress. Reminiscent of the Fossard fortress at Mount Ferrant in nearby Birdsall, but on a much smaller scale, the fortress at Acklam is thought to have been an outlying stronghold of the Fossard family or an earlier attempt at establishing a stronghold that was quickly abandoned.

As at Mount Ferrant, two ditches were dug across the steep-sided natural ridge and form the most visible features of the earthworks. The smallish motte, which stood at the highest point towards the western end of the east-to-west-running ridge would have originally been topped by a wooden tower and palisade. The northern scarp of the ridge still bears traces of a ditch and outer bank, both of which are still extant in the corner of a field to the immediate northwest of the castle. The gently sloping ground to the west of the motte would have served as a bailey. This was protected by the steeply scarped edge of the ridge. A ditch was dug across the ridge to protect the motte from the relatively level ground to the east, which would have formed a second bailey. The bailey was defended on its eastern side by an artificial scarp and ditch. A third bailey would have existed on the land between the eastern bailey and the modern road leading up Pasture Hill. This bailey would have extended to the modern field boundary. The site is visible from the road.

ADWICK-LE-STREET

Adwick-le-Street is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster that lies just off the Great North Road (A1) and 4 miles north of Doncaster itself. To the southeast of the village, surrounded by arable farmland, is a recreational area of parkland known as Castle Hills where the earthworks of Hangthwaite Castle are located. The motte and bailey fortress is attributed to Nigel Fossard and originally belonged to the manor of Langthwaite, which was one of six manors Fossard held in 1086 as a subfeudary of the count of Mortain. It later became known as Hangthwaite, which commemorates a 'lost' village of which the faint earthworks can still be seen. Its former name, however, lives on in the name of a local lane, which leads past the site to a fortified manor house of a later date. The site is heavily overgrown, but the motte, ditches and counterscarp banks are still clearly defined. A kidney-shaped inner bailey can be traced to the north, as can a sub-rectangular outer bailey to the east. Between the motte and the inner bailey on the southwestern side the rampart ends in a small mound that hints at the existence of a barbican at some stage.

ALDBOROUGH

The village of Aldborough (now in North Yorkshire but historically part of the West Riding) is situated just to the southeast of Boroughbridge and not far from the Great North Road. It marks the site of the former Roman town of Isurium Brigantum, which was built at the strategic intersection of Hadrian's Wall and Dere Street – the Roman road leading from York to the Antonine Wall. Referred to in the Domesday Book as Burgh ('burh' meaning 'ancient fortification' in Old English), the prefix 'ald' (old) was added to the name by 1145 (Smith, 1961). Aldborough's importance declined when the River Ure crossing was moved to Boroughbridge during the Norman period. Nonetheless, a castle is recorded as having existed on a site to the south of the village known as Studforth Hill since 1158. Originally held by the Crown, it passed into baronial hands ('Stuteville' is one of several old names by which the site was known) but was retaken by the Crown in 1205 (Brown, 1959).

Listed in 2014 as a possible motte and bailey earthworks, the former castle site is different from what one would expect to see had it truly been a motte and bailey. Lying to the south of another earthwork called the Stadium, which was thought to have been used for games and races in centuries past, the land is believed to have been under the plough for centuries. Indeed, sixteenth-century antiquary John Leland noted, 'There be now large feeldes, fruteful of corn, in the very places where the howsing of the town was; and in these feeldes yereley be founde in ploughing many coynes of sylver and brasse of the Romaine stampe – Ther also have been found sepulchres, aqaue ductus tessalata paviamenta &.c.' (Toulmin Smith, 1964). Although the raised platform and bowl-shaped depression of the Stadium hints at an oval-shaped ringwork, excavations in 1935 found the depression to be natural (Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 1959). In 1963 a survey suggested that 'Studforth Hill is a ploughed-out motte, probably the Vetus Burgus of the Pipe Rolls 1205–6 (and Rot. Chart 44).' (Renn, 1973). It wasn't until 2011 that Cambridge archaeologists ended centuries of speculation when a geophysical survey revealed a 'lost' Roman amphitheatre crowning the summit of the hill. The oval arena would have afforded a magnificent 360-degree view, making it the equivalent of a national theatre of the north.

ALMONDBURY

Undoubtedly one of the most prominent of Yorkshire's landmarks is at Castle Hill, Almondbury, just to the south of Huddersfield. The steep-sided promontory stands some 300m above the valley and dominates the landscape. The Victorian tower (erected to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897) is popular with visitors for its fine, panoramic views, but not many realise that a motte and bailey castle once stood where it now stands. The man-made defences here actually date back to the early Iron Age. Indeed, excavations show that the summit has been occupied for more than 4,000 years. The earliest fortifications have been traced to the western end and continued until eventually the entire hilltop was filled with circular dwellings and multiple lines of defences that included works in stone. The early Norman earthworks comprise a series of banks and ditches that are still visible around the periphery and would have capitalised on the existing Iron Age hill-fort workings. These banks and ditches would have been fortified with a wooden stockade. Similarly, the motte would have been crowned with a timber tower and a wooden palisade.

The entrance to the outer bailey would have been to the east, where it was separated from the inner bailey by a deep ditch. Similarly, a gateway permitting entrance to the inner bailey once stood where the road now leads to the modern buildings on the hill. An even deeper ditch separated the inner bailey from a further enclosure to the west, where the motte would have stood. There is no evidence to suggest that a stone keep ever existed, although several hewn stones were found in a well that was discovered during work on the Victoria monument foundations. Some massive wall foundations have also been found (Brooke, 1901).

The first Norman baron associated with Almondbury was Ilbert de Lacy, who was given the honour of Pontefract (formerly Kirkby) by the Conqueror and began work on the castle there. Almondbury was added to the honour later, but de Lacy's estates were forfeited in 1102. As there is no record of a royal castle being built at Almondbury, Henry de Lacy either founded it either before 1102 or after the family's property was restored. Alternatively, Ilbert's grandson (1106–1141) might have been responsible. There is a theory that King Stephen built it during his reign (1135–1154) and that no record was kept. Whatever the truth, the de Lacy family held on to the castle up to and including the reign of Edward I (1272–1307), when it belonged to the family's most illustrious member, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln. Upon his death in 1311, it passed by marriage to Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, but was forfeited following his rebellion in 1321. The honour then passed to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and subsequently to Henry of Lancaster, who ascended the throne in 1399. It remained Crown property until 1627, after which it reverted to private ownership. Precisely when the castle was destroyed or dismantled is unclear, but in the first year of the reign of Edward II (1307–1327) a record in Dodsworth's MSS refers to the former Castle of Almondbury, which suggests it had been dismantled, although at least a prison or dungeon still existed. The Inquisition, 1584 expressly states that the Castle, 'which in antient time was the chief mansion house or scite of the said manor', has now 'of long time since been utterly decayed' (Brooke, 1901).

The Jubilee Tower is open to visitors during school holidays and offers a splendid viewing platform, not only for even better views over the surrounding countryside but also to gain a better impression of the site.

AUGHTON

The tiny village of Aughton is a quiet backwater overlooking the floodplain of the River Derwent, just 7 miles northeast of Selby. At the western end of the village, the main street terminates in a gated green lane leading to All Saints Church, next to which are the remains of a former motte and bailey stronghold attributed to Nigel Fossard. As a subfeudary of the count of Mortain (King William's half-brother), Fossard held no less than 95 manors in Yorkshire; as Aughton was not his main caput, the Aughton stronghold might have been built to control a crossing on the Derwent. He died in 1120, but the castle was probably abandoned early in the thirteenth century in favour of a nearby moated site when the lands passed to the de la Haye family. The lands eventually passed by marriage to the Aske family who in turn abandoned the moated manorhouse about 1645. The roughly square-shaped bailey, located immediately southeast of the motte, has been incorporated into the grounds of the adjacent Aughton Hall.

The importance of the site did not elude I'Anson. 'The motte and bailey castle of Aughton, which subsequently became the stronghold of the Askes, feudatories of the Fossards and Mauleys, stands well above the River Derwent and occupies a site of considerable strategic importance. The motte is placed on a square platform, which is itself encircled by a square ditch – a somewhat unusual arrangement. The bailey, which is completely isolated from the motte, is guarded by a ditch 40 feet wide and six feet deep.' Notwithstanding the well-elevated site referred to by I'Anson, when the author visited in February, winter flood waters had swelled the Derwent to the width of a small lake and the water was only a few feet from the site.

The Aske family later propelled Aughton to national fame in connection with the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1536, Robert Aske became the reluctant leader of a vastly superior force of men (some 40,000 strong) from Lincolnshire and Yorkshire who objected to the religious reforms of the Crown (Henry VIII). Aske was tried, found guilty of treason and executed the following year. The uprising is still commemorated locally in an annual pageant. It is also worth looking inside the tiny, ancient All Saints Church, notable for its fine Norman arch, font and brass effigies of Sir Richard and Lady Margaret Aske. The keys can be obtained from the nearest (end) house in the main street. Nearby Aughton Hall now stands on the site of the original moated medieval manor house.

BARDSEY

Situated between Leeds and Wetherby, the attractive village of Bardsey cum Rigton claims to have not only officially the oldest pub in England (The Bingley Arms) but also the first Anglo-Saxon church tower in England (All Hallows), reputedly built between 800 and 825 AD. Overlooking the village is Castle Hill, on which stand the remains of a motte and bailey fortress attributed to Adam de Brus. In 1879, Clark wrote: 'Close north of the church, upon a knot of red sandstone, is an eminence known as Castle Hill, a name which in this part of the country, is usually applied to a moated mound. The eminence, like the knoll which it crowns, may be natural, but it is scarped and entrenched by art. It is about 20 ft. high, and oval or oblong in figure, with traces of a circumscribing ditch. The western end is isolated from the main body of the mound by a cross cut, across which lies a narrow bank of earth or causeway. The aspect of the whole is by no means clear. It has some of the characteristics of a small British camp, but if so it has certainly been occupied and altered by some English lord.' Clark's reference to a moated mound has led to suggestions that the hill might indeed have been an island. In 1902, Speight wrote: 'The great earthwork has apparently been encompassed by water; the beck-bordered land around lying low and marshy. Some years ago while draining on the east or deepest side of the hill, a bed of loose earth and stones was come upon, about 7 or 8 yards wide. It gave one the impression that this was part of a filled-up trench or moat, which in all probability in ancient times was carried round the hill. If such were the case, this circumvesture of waters, partly natural, partly artificial, would give the hill quite the appearance of an island, to which circumstance the ancient name of Berdeseie or Bardesei, may possibly be due. Bard, Barda, and Berda are well-known Saxon and Norse personal names, which compunded with the Anglo-Saxon ea, ey (an island), would explain the word as Barda's Island. In Domesday Bardsey appears as "Beresleseie" (the Norman scribe having erroneously made "d" into an "l").'

Excavations carried out in the late nineteenth century and in 1930 showed that works in masonry had at one time existed on the site. In addition to the foundations of a square stone keep, late twelfth- and early thirteenth-century pottery was found. The lack of pottery from any other period suggests the fortress was only occupied for a limited period. This theory is reinforced by evidence of medieval ridge-and-furrow ploughing in an area where the bailey was once situated, indicating the site had reverted to agriculture a long time ago.

Adam de Brus probably built the castle soon after being granted the manor of Bardsey in or about 1175 in a forced exchange for his estates in Danby, North Yorkshire. The lands were finally returned to Adam's son, Peter, in exchange for the West Riding lands and a payment of 1,000 pounds sterling, at which point Bardsey reverted to the Crown. The castle was presumably abandoned when the land passed to the monks of Kirkstall Abbey. Speight said, 'Though we possess no actual record of the transfer, it would appear that Bardsey and Collingham with Micklethwaite had been granted by the Crown before 1108 to Robert de Brus, whose grandson, Adam de Brus, by his marriage with Ivetta de Arches, succeeded to the manors of Thorp Arch and Walton. Robert de Brus, about the time named, exchanged these manors of Bardsey and Collingham for the vill and manor of Danby in Cleveland, together with lands at Gransmoor &c., in the East Riding. About the middle of the 12 century Bardsey and Collingham were in the hands of the Mowbrays. They bestowed these lands on Kirkstall Abbey.' Reverend Atkinson (1814–1900) also refers to the forced exchange of the de Brus lands in his book Forty Years in a Moorland Parish: 'Dugdale states that King Henry II "took the Castle of Danby, with Lordship and Forest thereto appertaining, and gave him instead thereof the Grange of Micklethwait, with the whole fee of Collingham and Berdsey," from Adam de Brus, son of Robert, the founder of the family and of the priory of Guisborough. To the statement as made by Dugdale, Ord (History of Cleveland, p. 248) adds that Adam by "adhering to Stephen throughout his stormy and disastrous career, had incurred the displeasure of Henry II," who thereupon acted in the way just named.'

Revered Atkinson also points us towards the date of the reversion of Bardsey to the Crown: 'In support and illustration of the foregoing, or some parts of it, I append the following translation of a document which I do not think has ever been much noticed before, and certainly at no great length by either of the former historians of Cleveland. It is from the Rotuli de Oblatis, p. 109, and under date 1200: "Peter de Brus has restored and quit-claimed to our Lord the King and his heirs for ever, the vills of Berdsey and Colingham and Rington, with all their appurtenances, as well in advowsons of churches, as in demesne lands, fees, homages, services, reliefs, and in all other matters to the said vills pertaining, without any reserve, in exchange for the vill of Daneby with all its appurtenances, and the forest of Daneby, which the King has restored to the said Peter and his heirs, to be held by him and his royal heirs by the service of one knight, in lieu of the aforesaid vills which King Henry, the father of the now king, had formerly given to Adam de Burs, the father of the said Peter, in exchange for the said vill and forest of Daneby."'