Legsby; The Mount

Has been described as a Questionable Timber Castle (Motte)

There are earthwork remains

NameLegsby; The Mount
Alternative NamesBleasby
Historic CountryLincolnshire
Modern AuthorityLincolnshire
1974 AuthorityLincolnshire
Civil ParishLegsby

The Mount, a medieval windmill mound 670m south of Bleasby Grange. It is thought to represent the site of Bleasby Mill which is referred to in documentary sources of the mid-13th century, however, it was already in existence in the 12th century when the adjacent road layout was established, and this may indicate the reuse of an earlier feature such as a burial mound.

The Mount lies on the former boundary between the medieval townships of Bleasby and Collow, at the corner of a field called Mill Hill. The mound itself, on which the windmill would have been erected, is circular in plan and rounded in profile, measuring about 20m in diameter and up to 2.4m high. Near the centre of the mound is a shallow pit about 1.5m in diameter, now largely infilled, which was used as a rubbish pit in the 19th century. This pit may mark the former position of the wooden post on which the windmill was supported. Buried remains of the windmill structure are expected to be preserved within the mound.

The mound is surrounded by a dry ditch, up to 5m wide, from which material used in the construction of the mound was excavated. Now between 0.5m and 1m in depth, it is crossed on the south side by a causeway which extends further southwards as a ramp, which would have provided vehicular access to the windmill. The ditch is in turn surrounded by an outer bank, also about 5m wide, which stands to a height of about 0.3m. (Scheduling Report)

Gatehouse Comments

Called a small motte by King. Did he think this ditch mound had started as a motte? What the earlier feature actually was is unknown but a prehistoric burial mound does seem most likely on the bases of size, location and absence of a bailey. The medieval manorial centre appears to have been at Bleasby House (TF130848) where the medieval manorial earthworks that survive include a square moat.

- Philip Davis

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 ReferenceTF132839
Latitude53.3404502868652
Longitude-0.300390005111694
Eastings513250
Northings383970
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink
Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 20' 25.46" Longitude 0° 18' 1.62"

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Photo by Philip Davis. All Rights Reserved

() above

Latitude 53° 20' 25.46" Longitude 0° 18' 1.62"

View full Sized Image

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Books

  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 52
  • Everson, P.L., Taylor, C.C. and Dunn, C.J., 1991, Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire p. 126-7
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 260
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1964, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p. 296 (slight)

Other

  • English Heritage, October 2000, Scheduling record: The Mount: a medieval windmill mound 670m south of Bleasby Grange. SAM 22769
  • Creighton, O.H., 1998, Castles and Landscapes: An Archaeological Survey of Yorkshire and the East Midlands (PhD Thesis University of Leicester) p. 67, 94, 436-7 online copy