Garthorpe Motte (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Garthorpe.
In the historic county of Leicestershire.
Modern Authority of Leicestershire.
1974 county of Leicestershire.
Medieval County of Leicestershire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SK835209
Latitude 52.77946° Longitude -0.76310°

Garthorpe Motte has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are uncertain remains.

Description

A castle was situated near the water mill at Garthorpe, and in C18 the close was still known as "Castle Close". (There is a mill at SK 835209 but there is no evidence of the site of a castle on RAF APs of 1954) (PastScape–ref. Nichols)

There is indeed evidence to support Nichol's statement that a castle stood next to the watermill. An impressive motte still stands 4 - 5 metres high adjacent to a water course for the mill. (McWhirr and Winter)

A motte is said to have been identified here, next to the water-mill, at c. SK835209; (McWhirr and Winter). This is a shapeless mound and appears to be part of the extensive earthworks connected with the mill. (King 1983)

Comments

Creighton suggests may be motte close to watermill.
The position would be similar to many mottes, close to a church and a river crossing, but the maintenance of watermills can involve dredging ponds and making spoil heaps or making earthworks which flooding can erode into unusual forms. The dismissal by as experienced a castellologist as King (and some other field archaeologists) needs serious consideration on the otherhand the history given by Nichols, which is C18 but scholarly, is highly suggestive.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 323648.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MLE3813.

Books
- Knox, Richard, 2015, 'The medieval fortified sites of Leicestershire and Rutland' in Medieval Leicestershire: Recent research on the Medieval Archaeology of Leicester (Liecestershire Fieldworks 3) p. 123-42
  Hartley, R.F., 1987, The Medieval Earthworks of North-East Leicestershire (Leicester: Leicestershire Museums, Art Galleries and Records Service) p. 9, 31
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. lxvi (reject)
  Nichols, J., 1795, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicestershire Vol. 2 p. 186, 190 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Creighton, O.H., 1997, 'Early Leicestershire Castles: Archaeology and Landscape History' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 71 p. 29 online copy
  McWhirr, A.D. and Winter, M.J., 1978-79, 'Medieval Castles Additional Information' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 54 p. 74-75 online copy
  Cantor, Leonard, 1977-8, 'The Medieval Castles of Leicestershire' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol. 53 p. 38 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 295, 288-9384 online copy

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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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