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Ballan Moor; The Berries

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Crick; Ballan Mount; Mount Ballan

In the community of Caldicot.
In the historic county of Monmouthshire.
Modern authority of Monmouthshire.
Preserved county of Gwent.

OS Map Grid Reference: ST488895
Latitude 51.60243° Longitude -2.74129°

Ballan Moor; The Berries has been described as a certain Timber Castle.

There are earthwork remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
Description

A sub-rectangular enclosure, c.98m NNE-SSW by 82m, defined by a bank and ditch, with a c.20m diameter ditched mound at the NE angle. This site is of similar size and plan to Caldicot castle, c.1.0km to the S, which occupies a similar setting. (Coflein)

low lying motte and bailey that may have been the creation of the Ballon family in c1086-1106. (Salter)

'The shape and size of the motte makes it a strong defensible structure and there is good evidence that the motte was defended from the bailey, giving the motte its private fortification function. The large bailey would have been big enough to house a small garrison, ideal for an early offensive castle. It is possible that the bailey was a pre-existing site, possibly some form of pre-Norman settlement.' (Phillips)

The monument comprises the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a military stronghold built during the medieval period. The site consists of a large steep-sided mound, 6m to 7m high in the NE corner of a roughly circular bailey. The motte has a flat summit and is surrounded by a flat-bottomed ditch varying between 2m and 4m wide and 1m to 2m deep. The bailey is cut on the W side by a deep modern drainage ditch. On the S side the bailey is defined by a low bank, 0.6m high on the outside and 0.2m high on the inside. On the N side there is a short stretch of bank, 0.5m-1m high, immediately W of the ditch surrounding the motte. On the SE side the bank is 1.5m high. Half way along the E side is a gap in the bank and a causeway across the ditch. The to N of the causeway the bank is 3m high and terminates at the ditch surrounding the motte. (Scheduling Report)
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
Coflein   County HER   Scheduling        
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Streetmap   NLS maps   Where's the path   Old-Maps      
Data/Maps > 
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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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.
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This record last updated 07/07/2016 08:09:04
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