Walford Motte

Description

Earthwork and buried remains of a motte castle, situated on level ground in the Teme valley, south of the river and 178m WSW of Walford Bridge. Two north east flowing drains border the monument to the north and south. The remains include a steep sided earthen mound of circular form, 30m diameter at the base and rising 3m to a flat top 13m across. From the top of the motte it can be seen to have six roughly equal sides, a feature which is not apparent from the base. On the south west side of the mound an early investigation of the site has created a substantial hollow, exposing masonry; the remains of a wall or stairway. Evidence for a prehistoric burial is thought to have been found during this investigation, which probably took place at the end of the last century. A shallow depression, 0.75m wide and extending c.2m in from the northern edge of the top of the mound, may also be a legacy of this event. A causeway across the surrounding ditch at this point may represent the original means of access to the motte. Spoil from the adjacent hollow has spread across this feature, partly obscuring its dimensions. The ditch is up to 7.5m wide, and is now mostly infilled, partly as a result of drainage works in 1930 when a pipe was laid to the south of the motte. However, it is still visible as a boggy area and is defined by an external bank which is up to 0.5m high and 6m wide. This bank is most easily visible to the north and north east, but is indistinct to the south. In the east quarter it extends north eastwards for c.20m, parallel with the ditch which runs towards Walford Bridge. A second extension, less well defined, extension runs several metres out from the northern quarter of the bank. To the south west the bank is visible as a slight rise supporting coarser grass than elsewhere, which extends for c.26m. This rise is separated from the rest of the bank by an inlet channel, which is 8m wide at this point and is visible as a spread of short, dark green grass for some distance beyond. The monument is associated with a similar motte castle at Buckton, just over 1km to the north west across the Teme. (Scheduling Report)