Mouse Castle, Cusop (The Gatehouse Record)

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

OS Map Grid Reference: SO24834247
Latitude 52.07547° Longitude -3.09819°

Mouse Castle, Cusop has been described as a certain Timber Castle, and also as a probable Masonry Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Earthwork and buried remains of a motte and bailey castle known as Mouse Castle, located on a natural headland with steeply sloping sides in all directions except to the north east where the land falls away more gently. The castle includes a motte standing 4m to 5m high and measuring 15m to 20m in diameter on the summit and approximately 50m in diameter around the base. This is surrounded by a ditch 4m to 5m wide and 1m to 3m deep which is best preserved on the northern side, with traces of a counterscarp bank on the north side. A further outer rampart measuring 10m to 12m wide and up to 3m high survives to the north and east. To the south east of the motte are the remains of the entrance to the complex including a large hollow way cutting through the outer ramparts. The monument is one of a number of medieval defensive sites located in strategic positions above the Wye Valley and is believed to have been constructed by Roger De Lacy, although its unusual form has led to suggestions that the castle may have been remodelled from a pre-existing Iron Age hill fort. The natural topography, however, suggests that the motte is formed from an outcrop enhanced by quarrying and the construction of the earthen ramparts. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1019488, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 30080
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 104934.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 1227.

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. 98
  Phillips, Neil, 2005, Earthwork Castles of Gwent and Ergyng AD 1050-1250 (University of Wales) p. 257-9 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. 3
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 204
  1981, Herefordshire Countryside Treasures (Hereford and Worcester County Council) p. 40
  RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire Vol. 1: south-west p. xxxv, 47 No. 3 (plan) online transcription
  Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Herefordshire Vol. 1 p. 235 (plan)
  Robinson, C.J., 1869, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (London: Longman) p. 40 online copy
Periodical Articles
- 1998-99, 'Pre-Conquest Castles in Herefordshire' Castle Studies Group Newsletter No. 12 p. 33-4 online copy
  Sterling Brown, R., 1988, 'Preliminary Results of Castle Survey' Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol. 50 p. 44
  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. 151 online transcription
  Lilwall, C.J., 1898-9, 'Cusop, its Church and Castles' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club p. 139-40

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It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
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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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