Roos Castle

Has been described as a Certain Fortified Manor House

There are earthwork remains

NameRoos Castle
Alternative Names
Historic CountryYorkshire
Modern AuthorityEast Riding of Yorkshire
1974 AuthorityHumberside
Civil ParishRoos

The moated site of Roos Castle. It includes a sub-rectangular central island surrounded by a single moat and two fishponds: one within the moat, one external to it. The raised island is 100m long, north-south, and 70m wide. An internal bank survives along the northern edge of the island; it is 1m high and 5m wide. A fishpond extends into the island on its eastern edge. This is 15m long, 7m wide, and 1.5m deep. Its eastern end opens onto the eastern arm of the moat. Earthwork remains survive on the island to the north of the fishpond. Stone foundations have, in the past, been exposed by stock poaching and been recorded in this part of the site. Both earthworks and foundations indicate the survival of structural remains on the island. The northern arm of the moat remains waterlogged. It is 45m long, 12m wide and 3m deep. The condition and size of this arm differ greatly from the other arms; it has been remodelled and retained in use as a pond. Both the north- eastern and north-western corners of the moat have been in-filled, isolating the northern arm and thereby creating the pond. The southern, western and eastern arms of the moat are 15m wide and 1.5m to 1.75m deep. There has been partial in-filling of the moat at its south-western corner. An earthen bank survives outside the western arm of the moat: it is 1m high and 7m wide. This bank also encloses the fishpond to the south of the moat. Here, also, it is 1m high, although its full width cannot be ascertained as it has been truncated to the south by the excavation of a drainage ditch. The heavily silted fishpond enclosed by this bank is situated adjacent to the southern arm of the moat. It is 15m wide and now only 0.3m deep. The visible section measures 40m in length and its eastern end has been in-filled. This moat was the site of the ancestral home of the Roos family who held extensive tracts of land in Yorkshire and who built Helmsley Castle in North Yorkshire. (Scheduling Report)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTA290294
Latitude53.7456398010254
Longitude-0.0445800013840199
Eastings529050
Northings429470
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

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Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 44' 44.62" Longitude 0° 2' 41.52"

View full Sized Image

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.

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Books

  • Kent, G.H.R., 2002, 'Middle division: Roos' VCH Yorkshire: East Riding Vol. 7 online transcription
  • Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p. 22
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 285 (slight)
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 531 (possible)
  • Loughlin, Neil and Miller, Keith, 1979, A survey of archaeological sites in Humberside carried out for the Humberside Joint Archaeological Committee p. 58
  • Le Patourel, H.E. Jean, 1973, The Moated Sites of Yorkshire (The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series 5) p. 116
  • Poulson, G., 1841, The History and Antiquities of the Seigniory of Holderness Vol. 2 p. 99 online copy

Other

  • English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009 Yorkshire and the Humber (London: English Heritage) p. 46 online copy
  • Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 550 online copy