Holt Pond Motte, Blendworth
Has been described as a Certain Siege Work
There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains
| Name | Holt Pond Motte, Blendworth |
| Alternative Names | Motley's Copse |
| Historic Country | Hampshire and the Isle of Wight |
| Modern Authority | Hampshire |
| 1974 Authority | Hampshire |
| Civil Parish | Rowlands Castle |
The motte castle at Motleys Copse survives well, despite some disturbance caused by later quarrying. It can be expected to retain important archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the original construction of the monument and its later use. It forms part of a group of three or four well preserved mottes and ringworks, including Rowlands Castle to the south east, which lie in close proximity within the boundaries of the medieval forest of Bere and for which documentary evidence survives of an historical association with Robert, Earl of Arundel.
The monument includes a small motte, probably dating to the 11th or 12th century, situated on level ground within Motleys Copse near Rowlands Castle. It includes a roughly circular inner platform, 12m in diameter, enclosed by a flat topped earthen bank, 8m wide and up to 0.8m high, and an outer ditch, 9m wide and 0.5m deep. The inner platform is elevated up to 1.3m above the surrounding woodland, with no trace of internal features. A possible original entrance is indicated by a slight lowering of the bank on the northern side and a causeway, 7m wide, across the outer ditch. To the south east, the ditch has been widened away from the motte, possibly as a result of later quarrying, to form a shallow pond, up to 2m deep and 12m across. Although undated, the motte is probably broadly contemporary with a larger ringwork and bailey situated 200m to the north east, which is the subject of a separate scheduling. Both of these monuments fall within the boundaries of the medieval royal hunting forest of Bere and form part of the Hundred of Finchdean owned by Robert, Earl of Arundel. The motte may therefore represent a small siege castle erected against the ringwork and bailey by Henry I before he banished Robert of Arundel from the kingdom in 1101. (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 Reference | SU722120 |
| Latitude | 50.9034118652344 |
| Longitude | -0.973429977893829 |
| Eastings | 472280 |
| Northings | 112050 |
