Motslow Hill, Stoneleigh (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Matslow Hill

In the civil parish of Stoneleigh.
In the historic county of Warwickshire.
Modern Authority of Warwickshire.
1974 county of Warwickshire.
Medieval County of Warwickshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP33077235
Latitude 52.34815° Longitude -1.51769°

Motslow Hill, Stoneleigh has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

The tenants of Stoneleigh called Sokemen, were compelled every three weeks to do their suit at the King's Court held for the manor, upon a place called Motslow Hill, on the South side of the river, opposite the church.' (Dugdale)
Motslow Hill is mentioned in 1260 and later. This may have been used as the Hundred Meeting. There is an artificial mound here 275m SSW of the church (E.P.N.S.).
Cathcart King suggests that it is not incompatible for this to have been a motte as well as a moot-hill (King 1983). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 335829.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 2878.

Books
- King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 486 (possible)
  Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. and Stenton, F.M., 1936, The Place-Names of Warwickshire (English Place Name Society 13) p. 184
Periodical Articles
- Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 46 p. 197-217 esp. 213 online copy
  Whitley, 1883, The Builder Vol. 45 p. 579-80
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Dugdale, Wm., 1656, The Antiquities of Warwickshire (Thomas Warren) p. 169-70 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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