Sherrington Motte

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameSherrington Motte
Alternative Names
Historic CountryWiltshire
Modern AuthorityWiltshire
1974 AuthorityWiltshire
Civil ParishSherrington

The Norman castle of the Giffords, at Sherrington has no visible remains of masonry (WAHNM, 1920-2).

This motte is 48m across and rises 5.5m above a 3.5m deep ditch, which widens in the east to form a water-filled moat. Vestiges of a perimeter bank on the top of the motte remain, but there is no trace of any structure. There is no evidence of an associated bailey (Field Investigators Comments–F1 MHB 17-FEB-75).

A ditch 110m NW of the motte was sectioned in 1972 and found to be 25 feet wide. It probably represents a bailey ditch. The enclosure map of Sherrington shows the road pattern to the south of the motte forms a D-shape enclosing the parish church, probably indicating a second bailey (Creighton). (PastScape)

The Sherrington Castle mound survives well and has potential for the recovery of both archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the landscape at the time the site was occupied.

The monument includes a motte castle with surrounding moat set on level ground in the valley of the River Wylye. The motte is 48m across and rises 5.5m above ground level. It has a level top 28m across with traces of a perimeter bank. A ditch, from which material was quarried during construction of the monument, surrounds the motte. This survives as a waterfilled moat to the south, east and north of the mound but is dry to the west. It varies in width between 5m and 25m and is between 2 and 3m deep except to the west where it survives as a buried feature. The site is believed to have been a castle belonging to the Gifford family. (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 ReferenceST960392
Latitude51.1523208618164
Longitude-2.05855989456177
Eastings396000
Northings139230
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

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.

Calculate Print

Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 100
  • Crowley, D.A. (ed), 1995, VCH Wiltshire Vol. 15 p. 237-40 online transcription
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 500
  • Pevsner, N. (Revised by Cherry, Bridget), 1975, Buildings of England: Wiltshire (London, Penguin) p. 469

Journals

  • Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 93 p. 114-5 online copy
  • 1973, 'Wiltshire Archaeological Register for 1972' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 68 p. 137-8 online copy
  • 1920-2, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 41 p. 387 (slight) online copy
  • Downman, E.A. and Goddard, E.H., 1919 'Plans of Wiltshire Earthworks' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 40 p. 352 online copy