Castlefacts³

Rotherfield Castle Hill

Has been described as a Questionable Timber Castle (Motte)

There are no visible remains

Name	Rotherfield Castle Hill
Alternative Names
Historic Country	Sussex
Modern Authority	East Sussex
1974 Authority	East Sussex
Civil Parish	Rotherfield

Castle known to have existed at Rotherfield Castle Hill. (Guy 1984)

Gatehouse Comments

Guy gives no source or evidence. His supposition as castle appears to be based on place name evidence alone. While the location is not implausible for medieval castle Guy's unquestioning certainty is enough to consider this site doubtful. There is recorded a large Roman bloomery (Iron working site) in the area which might suggest the castle place-names in the area (of which there several) derive from a Roman, rather than medieval, site. However, the area was a Saxo-Norman deer park of the C11-C12 so a lost early hunting lodge is an alternative possibility.Pullein (p. 44) appears to be suggesting that L.F Salzman though the hill might be land in the demense of Robert, Count of Mortain in the late C11 and afterward in royal demense but elsewhere (p. 151), she suggests it as the site of a timber fortress. If this was a small part of demense land in the parish then perhaps the name is a reference to Pevensey Castle, the centre of the Rape (i.e. The hill owned by the castle rather than the hill on which a castle exists).Whatever the origin of the Castle Hill name there is no archaeological evidence of a castle of any form here.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

County Historic Environment Record

www.eastsussex.gov.uk/atoz/heading450.aspx?forms=&acc=1&ae=1&ah=1&al=1&ar=1&aw=1

OS Map Grid Reference	TQ553281
Latitude	51.0303382873535
Longitude	0.212349995970726
Eastings	555300
Northings	128100