Almeley Castle

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameAlmeley Castle
Alternative NamesAlmley; Almeleia
Historic CountryHerefordshire
Modern AuthorityHerefordshire
1974 AuthorityHereford and Worcester
Civil ParishAlmeley

Remains of a Motte and bailey, extant by 1216 . The motte is 35m in diameter and 8m high. The ditch is from 1.3m deep on the south side to 2.5m deep on the north side below the bailey, and is 8m in width. The bailey is some 50m square and is bounded by a ditch on the east side, 12m in width and 2m in depth. there are also the remains of fishponds. (PastScape)

Beside the church of Almeley is a grass-grown mound, upon which the keep of a medieval castle once stood. The circular motte is 35m in diameter and 8m in height from the base of the encircling ditch. The ditch is 1.3m deep on the south side and 2.5m deep on the north side below the bailey. The ditch is 8m in width. The bailey is 50m square and bounded by a ditch on the east side, 12m in width and 2m in depth. The ditch formerly continued around the north side but has since been filled in to form a graveyard extension of the nearby church. The west side of the bailey is bounded artificial steepening of the natural slopes, presenting a bank 4.5m in height. Traces of an inner bank can be seen on the north-west side of the bailey, and the original causewayed entrance appears to have been in the east side. To the south-west of the castle motte are two rectangular depressions, which are thought to have been fishponds supplying the castle. Roughly 50m south-west of the motte, traces of two medieval fishponds can be seen. These fishponds - now dry - are at the foot of a ridge by a stream. One fishpond measures 42m x 20m and the other 50m x 18m. The whole site of the ancient castle is now under pasture. (Herefordshire Through Time)

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 ReferenceSO332514
Latitude52.157169342041
Longitude-2.97728991508484
Eastings333230
Northings251420
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Copyright Philip Halling and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons license.View full Sized Image

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Books

  • Shoesmith, Ron, 2009 (Rev edn.), Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press) p. 50-1
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 12
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 103 (slight)
  • Stirling-Brown, R., 1989, Herefordshire Castles (privately published) p. 1
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 202
  • 1981, Herefordshire Countryside Treasures (Hereford and Worcester County Council) p. 19
  • Wilkinson, Fredrick, 1973, Castles of England (London) p. 19 (list of minor sites)
  • RCHME, 1934, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire Vol. 3: north-west p. 6 No. 3 (plan) online transcription
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Gould, I. Chalkley, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Herefordshire Vol. 1 p. 232 (plan)
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 94-5 online copy
  • Robinson, C.J., 1869, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (London: Longman) p. 3-5 online copy

Journals

  • 1995, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol. 64 p. 26-7 (plan)
  • Sterling Brown, R., 1988, 'Preliminary Results of Castle Survey' Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol. 50 p. 41
  • Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol. 112 p. 77-124
  • Warner, Rev R Hyett, 1904, 'Almeley Castle and Church' Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club p. 235-7

Other

  • English Heritage, 2014, Heritage at Risk Register 2014 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 10 online copy
  • English Heritage, 2013, Heritage at Risk Register 2013 West Midlands (London: English Heritage) p. 8 online copy