Staplehurst Castle Bank (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
(Frittenden, Knox Bridge in error); Knocks Bridge Castle; Nocks Bridge Castle

In the civil parish of Staplehurst.
In the historic county of Kent.
Modern Authority of Kent.
1974 county of Kent.
Medieval County of Kent.

OS Map Grid Reference: TQ78434063
Latitude 51.13755° Longitude 0.54909°

Staplehurst Castle Bank has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

The monument near Knox Bridge, formerly interpreted as the site of a Norman motte castle, includes a moot mound and its surrounding quarry ditch. The mound is circular in plan and measures some 50m in diameter. In height it stands 2.8m above the level of the surrounding ground. A berm of 3m separates the mound from the surrounding ditch, which is some 5m across and now less than 1m deep, although this is largely the result of silting and the ditch must formerly have been considerably deeper in order to provide sufficient material for the construction of the mound. The most characteristic feature of the moot mound is the deep, bowl-shaped depression in the interior which served as the arena for debate and decision- making. This depression is 2m deep and 27m in diameter. The moot mound lies near the present boundaries between the parishes of Frittenden, Staplehurst and Cranbrook which formed the Hundred of Cranbrooke and over which the moot court had jurisdiction. (Scheduling Report)

Castle Bank near Knox Bridge otherwise known as Knocks or Nocks Bridge Castle, consists of a fosse with the ballast thrown inward to form a ramparted keep, the fosse being supplied with water via a channel from the nearby stream. There is no trace of a bailey or further enclosure. (VCH)
When the moat was drained some time prior to 1873, many stumps were discovered which appeared to be the remains of a palisade. (Roach Smith, 1880)
Scheduled as Castle. No 116. (MOW List of Anc Mon in Eng & Wales 1958 46 ANG 8.9.61)
Castle Bank, a ring motte, heavily overgrown, otherwise in fairly good condition, and as described above. It is placed in a significant position at an old river crossing. (F1 ASP 01-DEC-61)
Reinterpreted as a moot or meeting place by the Monuments Protection Programme. (Kent HER)

Small ringwork with wet moat. (King)

Comments

Not a manorial centre but close to river crossing at the centre of a Saxon Hundred. A rather fine example of how there was (and too some extent still remains) a tendency to describe earthworks as defensive and to see locations in military terms rather than in economic or, as in this case, political/adminstrative terms. However, whilst there is nothing to suggest this happen here, it is entirely probably that some Moots were appropriated by Norman lords as temporary camps or permanent residences replacing a communal government feature with a more centralised lordly administrative centre.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1013147, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 12842
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 414968.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) TQ 74 SE 1.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- CastlesFortsBattle.co.uk
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Kent (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 73
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 234
  Guy, John, 1980, Kent Castles (Meresborough Books)
  Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Kent Vol. 1 p. 408 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Tatton-Brown, T., 1977, 'Investigations and Excavations during year' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 93 p. 222 online copy
  King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  Roach Smith, C., 1880, 'British Moated Oppidum, Near Staplehurst' Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 13 p. 492-3 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Brian Roberts, Stuart Wrathmell, 1994, The Monuments Protection Programme: Medieval Settlements Project
  Maidstone Area Archaeological Group, 1978, Staplehurst, Castle Bank Measured Survey

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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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