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The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
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High Cross

In the civil parish of Lakes.
In the historic county of Westmorland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Westmorland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY406015
Latitude 54.40559° Longitude -2.91589°

High Cross has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are uncertain remains.

Description

Site of a possible motte and bailey (an early form of castle consisting of a flat-top steep-sided earthen mound, supporting a wooden tower, and a bailey) of Medieval date. According to Dr Welsh there is a site here which may either be natural, or a possible motte and bailey. "The summit comprises a rounded elevation 2m higher than adjacent ground to E, trapezoidal in shape, greatest axis 20m, the ground to E is 14m deep, max 30m wide, across the shoulders of two spurs and the slight depression between them. At this level the hill rises 3 to 4 metres on all sides over about 15m distance. N and especially S where deep are ditches formed by flanking co-curved ridges, which could be the result of melting ice, but as mentioned above, are rather suspect in this particular location. The site deserves some scrutiny in case it has been adapted for defensive use (Dr Welsh)." (Lake District HER)
Comments

Does not seem to be in PastScape. By a river crossing and a High Cross Castle place-name nearby, although this, almost certainly, refers to a, nearby, Iron Age hillfort. Isolated from settlement. Nothing obvious on air photo. Clearly even the original reporter had doubts about this site and Gatehouse considers it highly unlikely as a medieval castle.
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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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.
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This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:32

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