Lyneham Hillock Wood

Has been described as a Rejected Timber Castle (Motte)

There are no visible remains

NameLyneham Hillock Wood
Alternative Names
Historic CountryWiltshire
Modern AuthorityWiltshire
1974 AuthorityWiltshire
Civil ParishLyneham

Alleged site of a motte and bailey. A ditch and trackways are present. Not an antiquity. (PastScape)

? The remains of a Norman motte and bailey of about 4 acres. South of Hillocks Wood (VCH).

This is a ditch, averaging 4.0 m wide, with only slight banks on either side and it runs S.W. from the edge of Hillocks Wood for approx 100 m. then turns N.W. down a slope for some further 200 m. (F1 JP 24-AUG-68).

Situated below the crest to the S and commanding only a limited view to the N, the feature is not defensive and it is difficult to conceive either a camp, or a motte and bailey, in this position.

What seems most likely is that the ditch represents two separate tracks converging on a farm near the top of the hill, of which a brick barn still survives.

The original authority for describing the site as 'an ancient camp' was W.J. Parsons; while for the 2nd Edn. O.S. 25" Mrs. Cunnington described it as 'a ruined motte and bailey', though it is doubtful if she visited the site. (PastScape)

Mentioned as motte and bailey (Pevsner). There is nothing on ground here; older OS maps show a shapeless earthwork, nothing like a motte and bailey. (King 1983)

Gatehouse Comments

Creighton writes the earthworks are eroded hollow-ways.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSU026804
Latitude51.5225105285645
Longitude-1.96389997005463
Eastings402600
Northings180400
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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

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Books

  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 502 (reject)
  • Crittall, Elizabeth (ed), 1970, 'Parishes: Lyneham' VCH Wiltshire Vol. 9 p. 91 (tenurial history) online transcription
  • Pevsner, N., 1963, Buildings of England: Wiltshire (London, Penguin) p. 286 (not in 2edn of 1975)
  • Pugh, R.B. and Crittall, Elizabeth (ed), 1957, VCH Wiltshire Vol. 1 Part 1 p. 267

Journals

  • Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol. 93 p. 116 (reject) online copy