Didley Court Farm Motte, St Devereux (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SO45073199
Latitude 51.98364° Longitude -2.80123°

Didley Court Farm Motte, St Devereux has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains.

Description

Earthwork remains of a Motte and the site of a bailey. The motte is roughly round, about 26 yards in diameter at the base and 17 feet in height above the ditch. There were traces of a crescent-shaped bailey on the north and north west, but this has now been destroyed by post medieval building to the north. This destructive episodes may have removed up to half of the motte, as well as any surrounding ditch and a bailey. Archaeological deposits may have survived below this post-medieval development. A ditch and crescent-shaped bailey survived around the site as late as 1931. (PastScape)

Motte & bailey at Didley Court Farm. Motte is roughly round, c26yds diam at base, 17' high above ditch. Ditch survives only on SW, dying out into berm & scarp on SE & E. Traces of crescent shaped bailey on N & NW with a ditch on W & scarp on rest of circuit. To SW of bailey a scarp encloses a platform or court of irregular shape & perhaps of later date (RCHME.) Only motte now remains, to height of 5m above slight trace of a berm on SE side. There is no trace of ditch on SW. On N & NW sides bailey has been destroyed & court to SW is delineated only by a hedge on its NW & SW sides (1971 OS record). (Herefordshire SMR)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 107874.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 6813.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Herefordshire Through Time
  Jeff Thomas's Castles of Wales
Books
- Shoesmith, Ron, 2009 (Rev edn.), Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press) p. 253
  Phillips, Neil, 2005, Earthwork Castles of Gwent and Ergyng AD 1050-1250 (University of Wales) p. 175-6 Download from ADS
  Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 59
  Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (privately published) p. 17
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 210
  1981, Herefordshire Countryside Treasures (Hereford and Worcester County Council) p. 64
  RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire Vol. 1: south-west p. 224 No. 2 online transcription
Periodical Articles
- 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
  Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol. 33 p. 106-12 (listed as precursor to Kilpeck)
  Clark, G.T., 1880, The Builder Vol. 38 p. 250

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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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