Brompton Mill Castle Mound

Description

The motte and bailey castle north of Brompton Mill survives well and is a good example of its class. It will retain archaeological information relating to its construction, age and occupation. Environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which the monument was built will be preserved sealed on the old land surface beneath the motte and the ramparts and in the ditch fill. Such monuments when considered, either as single sites, or as part of a broader medieval landscape contribute valuable information relating to the settlement pattern, economy and social organisation of the countryside during the medieval period. Offa's Dyke which runs from the mouth of the Severn to that of the Dee, is one of the major border works of the early medieval period. The location of the motte and bailey on the alignment of the dyke at the point where it crosses an important river and the stratigraphic relationship between the castle and the dyke are of great interest and provide an insight into the controls applied to the border through a long period of time.
The monument includes the remains of a motte and bailey castle and the buried remains of Offa's dyke. The motte and bailey lie on the north bank of Caebitra Brook which here forms the boundary between England and Wales. It includes a substantial earthen mound, or motte, circular in plan with a base diameter of 33m standing up to 8.5m high. The level circular summit of the mound is 9m in diameter. There is a World War II Home Guard slit trench 0.8m wide cut across the summit of the motte. A well defined dry ditch 8m wide and averaging 2m deep surrounds the base of the motte. The ditch is intact, apart from some slight damage in its north west quarter. The bailey, in which the domestic buildings associated with the castle would have been protected, lies on the south east side of the motte. It is roughly triangular in plan with maximum dimensions of approximately 44m north west to south east by 40m north to south. The bailey is bounded around its south side by a well defined scarp up to 2m high with a buried outer ditch. Around its north east side the original boundary of the bailey is no longer visible but a modern field bank and hedge marks its position. The castle lies on the alignment of Offa's Dyke which approaches to within 80m south of the castle and 24m north of the castle. Although it is no longer visible as a surface feature within the area of the scheduling, archaeological evidence relating to the dyke will survive beneath the land surface below and to the west of the motte. All modern structures, boundary features and garden furniture within the area of the scheduling are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is included. (Scheduling Report)

Brompton Mill. A motte and bailey. The line of Offa's Dyke appears to be to the west of the motte which Fox regards as a typical 12th century work. The motte has retained its original condition. It is a flat-topped conical mound 26 feet high and stands on a high platform scarped on the north-west side in a defensive spur. The bailey, horse-shoe shaped and badly damaged on the eastern side by the mill pond, lies to the south-east. It is divided from the motte by a fosse 6 feet deep and largely destroyed by the mill stream (Fox 1929; VCH 1908).
A motte, with remains of a bailey, situated upon a southerly slope overlooking a crossing point of the Caebitra stream.
The motte has a base diameter of 33.0m and a height of 7.5m and the summit is 7.0 to 8.0m in diameter. The encircling ditch is 8.0m in width and 1.0m in depth, but has been filled in on the SW side and destroyed on the N side by the cutting of a mill stream. The bailey to the SE is about 50.0m across and is bounded on the S side by a steep scarp 8.0m in length and 3.0m in height. The eastern half and the outer ditch bounding it on the N and E have been cut away to form a millpond, now dry. To the NW of the motte, beyond the ditch is a fragment of outer bank 7.0m in width and 1.0m in height (F1 ASP 21-FEB-73). (PastScape)