Bride Motte, Isle of Man (The Gatehouse Record)

Bride Motte

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;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

In the parish of Bride.
On the Isle of Man.

OS Map Grid Reference: NX45300078
Latitude 54.37897° Longitude -4.38328°

Bride Motte has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Flat-topped natural knoll with an apparently artificial ditch and bank running NW-SW. Suggested to be a medieval motte. In the north west the knoll has been protected by a bank with an outer height of 0.8m and an inner height of 0.6m which extends down its south west side in diminishing strength. It has an outer ditch, 2.5m wide with an average depth of 0.3m, on the north west side only. The steep sides of the scarps serve as a defence. the flat top has a diameter of 10m. (PastScape summary)
NX 45300078. The earthwork is situated on a natural knoll raised above and at the southern terminal of a low ridge which extends to the north west. In the north west the knoll has been protected by a bank with an outer height of 0.8m and an inner height of 0.6m which extends down its south west side in diminishing strength. It has an outer ditch, 2.5m wide with an average depth of 0.3m, on the NW side only. Elsewhere the steep sides of the knoll - possibly scarped - serves as its only defence. The flat top has a diameter of 10.0m. In the SE the lower slopes have been mutilated by a modern hedge bank. There is no trace of an entrance or a bailey and the earthwork is heavilly covered with fern. The interior appears rather uneven possibly caused by low footings (F1 DE 31.10.55). (PastScape)

Comments (by Philip Davis)

Despite being identified as a motte by the OS by 1956 this site was missed by King. However it has not been investigated and does not appear in the listings of Manx antiquities. There are a number of other mounds and tumulii marked on the OS map in the area.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The National Monument Record number(s), or equivalent, for this site is/are 8364.
Further information may be available from http://www.gov.im/mnh/.

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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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This record last updated on Tuesday, August 11, 2015

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