Week St Mary Castle Hill

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Ringwork)

There are cropmark/slight earthwork remains

NameWeek St Mary Castle Hill
Alternative NamesSt Mary-Week; Kinnick; Castle Ditch
Historic CountryCornwall
Modern AuthorityCornwall
1974 AuthorityCornwall
Civil ParishWeek St Mary

The earthworks of a small Norman ringwork or castle at Week St Mary. In the field to the west of St Mary's church called Castle Hill, in the NW corner, is the earthwork of a small ringwork or castle. It is some 42m in overall diameter: the rampart rises up to 1.5m above an outer ditch which has an average depth of 0.4m. The interior is 0.8m above the outer ground surface level, and there is a platform 0.3m high and some 8.0m square in the centre. The entrance is on the NE where there is a well defined causeway across the ditch. In 1086, Week St Mary was owned by Richard Fitz Turold. It may have been him or one of his descendents (the Cardinham family) who built the ringwork here. The earthworks were surveyed by CAU in 1981 and described in detail by Preston Jones and Rose 1992. The ringwork and associated earthworks, including possibly baileys, are visible on aerial photographs and were recorded during the Cornwall NMP. (Cornwall & Scilly HER)

A castle once stood in the field, called Castle Hill, next to the churchyard and foundations of extensive buildings may yet be traced on the site (Polsue).

Gatehouse Comments

Polsue 'foundations' would seem to be building platforms rather than masonry footings. There are also other earthworks suggestive of village shrinkage. Kinnick is a castle listed by Harvey as known to exist but with no remains. The only place-name in Cornwall similar to this is Treskinnick Cross which is near the castle of Week St Mary, which is not listed by Harvey. On this bases it may be assumed Kinnick is another name for Week St Mary.

- 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 ReferenceSX236977
Latitude50.7525291442871
Longitude-4.50148010253906
Eastings223640
Northings97750
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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

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Books

  • Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p. 136-43
  • Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 47
  • Spreadbury, I. D., 1984, Castles in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (Redruth)
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 77
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Cornish, J.B., 1906, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Cornwall Vol. 1 p. 470 online copy
  • Polsue, J., 1872, A complete parochial history of the county of Cornwall (William Lake, Truro & John Camden Hotten, London) Vol. 4 p. 308
  • Daniel, J., 1854, A Geography of Cornwall p. 137
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 20 online copy
  • Lysons, D. and S., 1814, Magna Britannia Vol. 3 Cornwall p. 321 online transcription

Journals

  • Preston-Jones, A. and Rose, P., 1992, 'Week St Mary, town and castle' Cornish Archaeology Hendhyscans Kernow Vol. 31 p. 143-53 online copy
  • Preston-Jones, Ann and Rose, Peter, 1986, 'Medieval Cornwall' Cornish Archaeology Hendhyscans Kernow Vol. 25 p. 135-185 online copy
  • 1982-3, Cornwall Committee for Rescue Archaeology annual report Vol. 8 p. 10
  • 1982, Medieval Village Research Group annual report Vol. 30 p. 6
  • King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  • Peter, O.B., 1902, 'The ancient earth-fenced town and village sites of Cornwall' Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall Vol. 15 p. 113 online copy