Midhurst Castle

Has been described as a Certain Timber Castle (Ringwork), and also as a Certain Masonry Castle

There are earthwork remains

NameMidhurst Castle
Alternative NamesSt Anns Hill; Tan Hill
Historic CountrySussex
Modern AuthorityWest Sussex
1974 AuthorityWest Sussex
Civil ParishMidhurst

Historically nothing is known of the castle or fortified manor house on St. Ann's Hill but excavations in 1913 showed it consisted of a curtain wall 5 ft. thick, enclosing 5 1/2 acres and entered at the south west by an archway. Foundations of a hall, C12 chapel and other buildings, probably including the keep were revealed. On the west St. Ann's hill is cut off from the town by a dry ditch. There is no definite reason for claiming that the earthwork represented originally a motte and bailey castle, but the evidence does point to the site having been abandoned c. 1280 though the chapel was still in use in 1291 (Hope; VCH Vol. 4). The Bohuns had probably erected and inhabited a stronghold, the remains of which may be found on St Ann's Hill from whence they migrated to the low ground across the river in less troublesome times, and built Cowdray manor house (Ellis).

The castle is situated upon the end of a spur, overlooking steep slopes above the River Rother to the E and N and a tributary of it to the S. Westwards, the site is cut off by a weak ditch across the ridge. The buried foundations of the curtain wall and buildings have been reconstructed and raised to about 1.0m above ground level with mortared ragstone. The hill is a public open space and the site is under trees and rough pasture. (Field Investigators Comments–F1 ASP 19-MAR-70). Documentary sources of 1284-1311 refer to the demolition of a hall, two chambers, two chapels, a kitchen and a granary (VCH Vol. 4). (PastScape)

Norman castles which evolved beyond the use of timber for their defences often have a rigidly regular enclosed area on the motte - a shell keep - unlike the enclosure wall of the example on St Ann's Hill which has been tailored to fit the mound. This example, therefore, adds to the known diversity of shell-keeps in the South East

It holds considerable archaeological potential, especially in the areas of the dry ditch and the bailey, despite the disturbance caused by tree-roots and by former partial excavations. The importance of the castle is increased by its proximity to the manor house at Cowdray 300m to the north-east which superseded it.

The monument includes the earthworks and ruined walls of a castle dating from the 12th century. The central area of the castle is the artificial mound, or motte, an existing natural prominence which was heightened using rubble. On the motte was built a roughly oval enclosing wall up to 1.7m thick which defined an area 65m north-south by 50m east-west. Backing on to the wall were a number of chambers used for living quarters, kitchens and storage, as well as a small chapel dedicated to St Denis. The motte was defended on the south and east sides by steep slopes. On the north side a dry ditch was dug measuring over 10m wide which has now been largely infilled by eroded soil although it is still over 3m deep at the northern end. On the west side the defences were pierced by an arched entrance, probably the front part of an otherwise wooden gatehouse. To the north-west of the motte, and still within the defences, is a second raised area which is likely to have been the site of ancillary buildings such as stables and granaries. This bailey area measures 78m north- east/south-west by 15-25m north-west/south-east. The foundations of many of the stone walls of the castle were traced during partial excavations by Sir W.St John Hope in 1913. The walls were partly reconstructed so that they stand to ca.0.8m, the original stone having been taken for other Midhurst buildings after the site's abandonment in favour of the nearby Cowdray mansion in the Tudor period. The two sets of steps and all of the modern fences and walls are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included. (Scheduling Report)

Gatehouse Comments

The site almost certainly started as a timber castle but there is no evidence of a motte here and, indeed, only fairly slight earthworks were done to secure the hill top. Gatehouse suspects the site predated the Conquest. Presumably a wooden palisade was replace with the substantial stone wall at the same time as the other stone buildings were constructed. The document mention above probably uses the term camera which has been translated as chamber although, in practice, the term often seems to refer to residential towers.

- 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 ReferenceSU888214
Latitude50.9856910705566
Longitude-0.735119998455048
Eastings488880
Northings121460
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Jones, R., 2003, 'Hastings to Herstmonceux: the castles of Sussex' in Rudling, D. (ed) The archaeology of Sussex to AD2000 (Great Dunham: Heritage Marketing and Publications) p. 171-8
  • Thompson, K., 2001, 'Historical Notes: the castle of Midhurst, its builders and occupants', in Magilton, J. and Thomas, S. (eds), Midhurst (Chichester: Chichester District Archaeology 1) p. 21-5
  • Magilton, J., 2001, 'Excavations at St Ann's Hill, 1994', in Magilton, J. and Thomas, S. (eds), Midhurst (Chichester: Chichester District Archaeology 1) p. 26-48
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Sussex (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 54-5
  • Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 255 (slight)
  • Guy, John, 1984, Castles in Sussex (Phillimore) p. 130-1
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 473
  • Renn, D.F., 1973 (2 edn.), Norman Castles of Britain (London: John Baker) p. 243, 245
  • Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1953, VCH Sussex Vol. 4 p. 74 online transcription
  • Allcroft, A.H., 1930, Waters of the Arun (London) p. 90-1, 94-5
  • Hope, W. St.John, 1919, Cowdray and Easebourne Priory (London) p. 2-4, plates i-iii
  • Clinch, G., 1905, 'Ancient Earthworks' in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Sussex Vol. 1 p. 479 online copy
  • Ellis, W.S., 1885, The Parks and Forests of Sussex p. 66 online copy
  • Elwes, Dudley George Cary, 1876, A history of the Castles, Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex (London: Longmans) p. 77n, 152-3 online copy

Journals

  • Woodburn, Bill and Guy, Neil, 2005-6, 'St Ann's Castle' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol 19 p. 28-30
  • Guy, Neil, 2005, 'The Cowdray and Midhurst Heritage Project' Castle Studies Group Bulletin Vol. 18 p. 166-8
  • Thompson, K., 1996, 'St Ann's Hill, Midhurst: the builders and owners of the castle' The Archaeology of Chichester and District 1996 p. 48-9 Download copy
  • Woodward, Sue (ed), 1994, 'Midhurst: St Ann's Hill' The Archaeology of Chichester and District 1994 p. 32-6 Download copy
  • Magilton, John, 1993, 'Midhurst: St Ann's Hill (SU 888 214)' The Archaeology of Chichester and District 1993 p. 32-6 Download copy
  • Hallam, M., 1985, 'Midhurst town and castle' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 142 p. 57-8
  • King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol. 3 p. 90-127
  • Turner, Rev Edward, 1868, ' St Anne's Hill, Midhurst' Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol. 20 p. 175-179 online copy

Primary Sources

  • Peckham, W.D., 1941, Chichester Cathedral Chartulary (Sussex Records Society 46) p. 315

Other

  • Harris, R.B., January 2010, Midhurst Historic Character Assessment Report: Sussex Extensive Urban Survey Download copy
  • Wildman, J., 2005, Work on the Motte and Bailey Castle on St Ann's Hill, Midhurst, West Sussex (unpublished Southern Archaeology Ltd. report)