Hilborough Motte (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Hilburgh

In the civil parish of Hilborough.
In the historic county of Norfolk.
Modern Authority of Norfolk.
1974 county of Norfolk.
Medieval County of Norfolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TF825000
Latitude 52.56731° Longitude 0.69233°

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

There are no visible remains.

Comments

There are a large number of surviving barrows in the parish, but this site is close to the church and in the park of Hilborough Hall to which it could be a precursor. The tenurial history is not inconsistent with a small motte of mainly symbolic value and there must certainly have been a manor house of some form in the C11. The Park will have been landscaped in late C18 after the house was rebuilt in 1779 (a late medieval hall house survives, much altered as the Gardner's Cottage). Must be questionable on the grounds of an unsupported reference by an early modern writer who would not have a skilled appreciation of archaeological monuments but modern geophysics or air photography may yet show something.
Given map reference is for the church.

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 16510.

Books
- Blomefield, F., 1807, 'Hundred of South Greenhoe: Hilburgh' An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk Vol. 6 p. 112-18 (tenurial history) online transcription
  Martin, T., 1740, Church Notes

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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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