Scheduled Ancient Monument: MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE KNOWN AS THE MOUNT (30547)

The monument includes a motte and bailey castle situated on rising ground overlooking a small valley to the south. The motte is visible as a flat- topped, sub-circular mound approximately 46m in diameter and 5m in height above the prevailing ground level, encircled by a ditch up to 10m wide and open to a depth of between 2m and 3m. The bailey which adjoins the motte on the south side is sub-rectangular in plan, with a central platform measuring approximately 53m east-west by 30m and raised up to 0.7m above the prevailing ground level. It is enclosed on the west, south and east sides by a ditch approximately 13m in width and open to a depth of up to 2m below the external ground level. A wide drainage channel of comparatively recent date has been cut through the outer edge of the western arm of the bailey ditch, linking it to an adjacent quarry pit. The vertical parts and corrugated metal sheeting which block the modern drainage channel and cut the western arm of the bailey ditch, modern fences and a modern pipe and timber upright supporting it are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.