Mohun Castle, South Perrott

Description

Mohun Castle, earthworks immediately S. of the church, consisted of a moated enclosure with two or more outer enclosures. The area enclosed by the moat was about 3/4 acre, but the N. side has been obliterated, mainly by an extension of the churchyard. The moat is dry and there is an entrance on the S. side. There are traces of a long rectangular enclosure on the E., and a narrow L-shaped enclosure on the S. Adjoining the churchyard is the site of the manor-house, of which the GIBB'S were lessees for many generations. Not long after 1644 the house was taken down and the materials sold. An indenture dated 1680 describes a building called the Porters Lodge to be still standing on the N. side of the ruined mansion house, and a great court in front of the house "leading from the Porters Lodge to the N. door". (RCHME).
The site lies on low-lying ground and is grass covered. There is no trace of stonework or of a castle mound nor is there an obvious building platform within the area of the moat. The Porter's Lodge could not be located. The moat itself is a pronounced feature with traces of an inner and an outer bank in the East. The Northern portion of the moat could not be traced. North of the siting symbol the ground is considerably disturbed. The remainder of the earthworks form no precise pattern but are comparable to the usual form of Medieval Manorial earthworks (Field Investigators Comments-F1 JR 23-MAY-55). (PastScape)

The north-eastern quadrant of the site is occupied by St Mary's Church and here all surface traces of the castle have been all but obliterated, presumably during the creation and subsequent extension of the churchyard. However, much of the site to the south and west remains relatively undisturbed and the southern defences survive as well-preserved earthworks including a substantial moat (averaging 1.3m in depth). Many other earthworks survive both within and beyond the latter but as these have never been subjected to an accurate topographic survey it is difficult to appreciate the layout of the site. (Linford)

Mohun Castle, a moated structure 200 feet by 180 feet. This was probably the original centre of the village. There appears to be slight shrunken village remains in the valley to the West, and broad ring to the South. (PastScape)

Comments

Nothing to suggest this site was anything more than a large moated manor house. The question here, as with other such sites, is the reason this site has a 'castle' name when other similar sites are called 'manor' or 'court'.