Monnington Court, Vowchurch (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Monnington Straddle; Mannington Straddel

In the civil parish of Vowchurch.
In the historic county of Herefordshire.
Modern Authority of Herefordshire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Herefordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO38253682
Latitude 52.02635° Longitude -2.90139°

Monnington Court, Vowchurch has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a probable Masonry Castle.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

The remains of a Motte and bailey at Monnington court. The motte is 3.4 metres high, oval in shape with its longer axis of 40 metres orientated north to south. A ditch remains on the west and north sides but elsewhere has been filled in. The motte lies on the east side of an almost square bailey surrounded by a now shallow ditch which has a stream running through it. It is possible that this supposed bailey is a natural feature created by the stream course and that if a bailey was constructed as part of the castle complex, it is more likely to be west of the motte below the standing buildings of Monnington Court. (PastScape)

Motte and bailey. Crescent shaped bailey to W of mount. Moat partly wet. About 60 yds x 52 yds rising 12.5' above partly wet moat which surrounds it. (RCHME). Motte 3.4m high oval, longer axis of 40m orientated N-S. Ditch on N & W side, elsewhere filled in. Motte lies on E side of almost square bailey, surrounded by now shallow ditch which has stream running through it. No traces of buildings on either motte or bailey (OS record, 1971). Abbeydore owned until the suppresion much land in Vowchurch including Mannington Straddle where they probably had a grange (suggested 1460) (Kay, R., 1947-52 MS) Moat approx 1' deep at S end to c 8' at N. A wall built across moat on NW not new on moat partially infilled by possible causeway (Scheduling record) A geophysical survey carried out in 2000 (SMR 34273) found traces of a large rectangular stone foundation on top of the motte. This suggest that there had been a stone tower on the motte. (Herefordshire SMR)

'evidence suggests the site is a late period fortified-site and not a motte. On shape and size, the mound would appear to have had little defensive significance to the occupants but would have provided sufficient space for a number of people or buildings.' (Phillips)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1005325, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number he225
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 105772.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 890.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Herefordshire Through Time
Books
- Shoesmith, Ron, 2009 (Rev edn.), Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press) p. 271
  Phillips, Neil, 2005, Earthwork Castles of Gwent and Ergyng AD 1050-1250 (University of Wales) p. 253-4 Download from ADS
  Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 52
  Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (privately published) p. 19
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 211
  RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire Vol. 1: south-west p. 245 No. 2 online transcription
  Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Herefordshire Vol. 1 p. 229, 231
Periodical Articles
- Geoffrey Gibbs, 2000 June 3, 'Hi-tech pointer to Welsh rebel's last resting place' The Guardian online copy
  Mould, C. and Watt, S., 2000, 'Reports, Herefordshire' West Midlands Archaeology Vol. 43 p. 64
  Shoesmith, R., 2000, 'Archaeology, 2000, Report of Sectional Recorder' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club Vol. 50.1 p. 111
  Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (privately published) p. 19
  Attfield, C.E. (ed), 1975, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol. 29 p. 5 (plan)
  1981, Herefordshire Countryside Treasures (Hereford and Worcester County Council) p. 45
  Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124
  Marshall, G., 1938, 'The Norman Occupation of the Lands in the Golden Valley. Ewyas, and Clifford, and their Motte and Bailey Castles' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club p. 146-7 online transcription

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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