Cowdray Park, Easebourne (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Loves Farm mound

In the civil parish of Easebourne.
In the historic county of Sussex.
Modern Authority of West Sussex.
1974 county of West Sussex.
Medieval County of Sussex (Rape of Chichester).

OS Map Grid Reference: SU90952325
Latitude 51.00151° Longitude -0.70484°

Cowdray Park, Easebourne has been described as a Timber Castle but is rejected as such.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Alleged motte in Cowdray Park, but probably a natural feature. Field investigations in 1970 located no traces of any associated features. A reservoir constructed in either 1912 or 1936 has been incorporated into the feature.
Possibly the remains of a Motte at SU 9095 2325 beneath a 100ft diameter reservoir built in 1936.
Large motte-like mound with circular water reservoir occupying the whole of the top.
Miss Keef believes the mound existed before construction of reservoir but confirmation needed from Cowdray Estate as the mound could be modern, the earth around to support the wall? No sign of bailey.
Mr Streeter, Estate Engineer, Cowdray, stated that the reservoir was constructed about 1912, upon an existing eminence, but he could not say whether this was a natural or artificial feature.
An inspection of the area revealed nothing of archaeological interest: certainly no ditches or any other feature associable with a motte (F1 ASP 03-JUN-70). (PastScape)

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 249893.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MWS5696.

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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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