GATEHOUSE
The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
Home
The listings
Other Info
Books
Links
Downloads
Contact
 
Print Page 
 
Next Record 
Previous Record 
Back to list 

Cole's Tump

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Condie Castle

In the civil parish of Much Dewchurch.
In the historic county of Herefordshire.
Modern Authority of Herefordshire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Herefordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO46292822
Latitude 51.95000° Longitude -2.78237°

Cole's Tump has been described as a Timber Castle but is rejected as such.

There are earthwork remains.

Description

Cole's Tump - Natural mound in location that 'would have offered a superb strategic advantage for a motte, a fact which along with the name drew its attention' (Phillips)

Condie Castle SO465283 - A place name from the Tithe Award (Shoesmith ref. Sprackling and Lesser)

"Within living memory Condie Castle was an earthwork which children played in, with a ladder to get into it. It was dismantled at about the time the pillow mounds were ploughed under. Condie Castle is to the east of Coles Tump, just west of the trig point." (Barry Cooper, pers corr. 12-7-2011)
Comments

Recorded in Herefordshire SMR as natural mound and site of pillow mounds.
No serious question of a medieval fortification here. The nearby presence of pillow mounds might just suggest a warreners lodge. Is 'condie' a dialect word for rabbit? cf. coney. Ironic use of the term castle to refer to a warren with a superficial form to a motte and bailey. Although 'Condie Castle' is a distinct from Coles Tump there is a possibility of some name transfer between these two mound.
If medieval castles in the marches were built for pure military reasons then this certainly is a site that one would expect to be fortified, controlling a pass through hills. However, castles in marches were, most often, in military terms, residences for knights. What was required of a 'castle' was an attached manor that provided sufficient income to fund the military equipment of a knight. This is why generally castles are in villages surrounded by fields, not on isolated hilltops.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
PastScape   County HER            
Maps >
Streetmap   NLS maps   Where's the path   Old-Maps      
Data/Maps > 
Magic   V. O. B.   Geology   LiDAR   Open Domesday  
Air Photos > 
Bing Maps   Google Maps   Getmapping   ZoomEarth      
Photos >
CastleFacts   Geograph   Flickr   Panoramio      

Sources of information, references and further reading
Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
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.
Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:30

Home | Books | Links | Fortifications and Castles | Other Information | Help | Downloads | Author Information | Contact
¤¤¤¤¤