Millsome Castle, Coldridge (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;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

In the civil parish of Coldridge.
In the historic county of Devonshire.
Modern Authority of Devon.
1974 county of Devon.
Medieval County of Devon.

OS Map Grid Reference: SS66650580
Latitude 50.83633° Longitude -3.89497°

Millsome Castle, Coldridge has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

Medieval motte or ringwork on a natural rise above the valley of the River Taw. It survives as an oval mound which measures 49m from north to south and 43m from east to west at its base, and is 9m high. To the north there is a section of ditch which measures 15m wide and up to 3m deep. This peters out to the south at both the western and eastern sides of the mound where it is preserved as a buried feature. A bailey is thought to exist on the western side. The castle is thought to date to the mid 1100s. (PastScape)

This is a castle mound with a flat top. A vestigal berm around much of the circumference suggests an infilled ditch. On the north side where natural defence is slighter there is a ditch with an outer bank of stone rubble and earth. Whole area densely overgrown with bramble and it is difficult to see whether any form of bailey was intended (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card 1971).
On a knoll beside the River Taw. Physical details obscured by dense vegetation cover. Enclosing ditch survives on north side 1 metre deep. Central area is 2-3 metres high, and 20 metres in diameter. Its foundation date is uncertain, the civil war period (1130's and 1140's) is suggested (Higham 1979). (Devon and Dartmoor HER)

Millsome Castle survives well and contains archaeological information relating to Norman military activity in this part of Devon.
The monument includes a medieval motte on a natural rise above the valley of the River Taw, and has commanding views over the surrounding countryside. The monument survives as an oval mound which measures 49m from north to south and 43m from east to west at its base, and is 9m high. To the north there is a section of ditch which measures 15m wide and up to 3m deep. This peters out to the south at both the western and eastern sides of the mound where it is preserved as a buried feature. The motte is thought to date to the mid-1100s. (Scheduling Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1016227, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number 30304
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 34190.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 1103.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 87 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 115
Periodical Articles
- Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol. 46 p. 142-9
  Higham, R.A., 1982, 'Early Castles in Devon' Château Gaillard Vol. 9-10 p. 101-116
  King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Higham, R.A., 1979, The Castles of Medieval Devon (University of Exeter PhD Thesis) Downloadable from EThOS

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The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.

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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