Monument record MDO1341 - The Castle, Leigh

An earthwork consisting of a slight bank on average eight metres wide forming an oval enclosure measuring around 310 metres north-south with traces of an outer ditch, and enclosing around 9 acres. In 1952 the earthworks were described as a very slight bank with occasional traces of an external ditch, and largely destroyed on the south. There are two entrances, one on the south-west and one on the north-east, each with a causeway around four metres wide. Interpreted as a medieval wood bank or a late prehistoric non-defensive enclosure.

The Castle at ST 631078 is a simple Iron Age non-defensive univallate enclosure covering 9 acres with an external ditch 15 ft to 20 ft wide. The entrance on the west, now used as a
cart-track, is probably original with a good internal hook on the north side extending 50 ft. The bank, which can be traced all along its perimeter, is the wrong shape for a park pale or
warren boundary. <3>

'The Castle', (name confirmed at Castle Farm, formerly Three Gates Farm), is situated upon the summit of a low hill. The work roughly oval in plan, measures, overall, 310.0m
north-south by a maximum 190.0m transversely and comprises a weak inner bank of 8.0m average width and, in height, 0.3m internally, and 0.7m externally, where best preserved, with now unsurveyable traces of an outer ditch. The bank lies within woodland which covers the site and the ditch lies in pasture outside except on the north-east where both bank and ditch lie out in pasture. On the north-west, the bank is barely traceable, and around the southern end and for much of the east side is reduced to an outward-facing scarp, 6.0 to 8.0m wide and 0.7 to 1.0m high.

To the south-west and to the north-east are two original diagonally-opposed entraces, both causewayed and each about 4.0m in width. At the south-west entrance, the bank is inturned for about 14.0m. Published 1:2500 AM Survey and MSD revised. <4>

While the site may be a late prehistoric enclosure it is more likely to be a medieval woodland bank, perhaps surrounding a coppice in this area of unenclosed woodland pasture at the western edge of Blackmoor Forest. The apparent inturns on the SW entrance appear to be, at least partly, the result of hollowing of the trackway which leads to an area of gravel and/or clay pits within the southern part of the enclosure. The enclosure certainly pre-dates the Hilfield Perambulation, which dates to the mid-16th or later 17th century. <5>

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1900, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch two (Map). SDO11594.

(ST 63060773). The Castle (NR)

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 132 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(20) THE CASTLE, earthwork on E. edge of the parish about 1 m. S.E. of the church, consists of a slight bank with occasional traces of an outer ditch and enclosing a roughly oval area of about 9 acres. The bank has been destroyed on much of the S.E. and S.W. sides but is in part represented by a scarp. There are two gaps towards the N.E. and S.W. which may represent entrances. The work occupies a comparatively level and low-lying site.’

<3> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, RCHM Ms File (unpublished revision of Dorset 1), 22.9.76 (Unpublished document). SDO17382.

<3.1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF CPE/UK/1975 2052-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17390.

<4> Phillips, A S, Various, Field Investigators Comments ASP, F1 ASP 11-NOV-77 (Unpublished document). SWX3817.

<5> Bowden, M, Field Investigators Comments Mark Bowden, 2005-11-23 (Unpublished document). SDO17391.

<5.1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1991, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1990, 5-22 (Serial). SDO90.

<6> Lock, G, and Ralston, I, 2017, Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland [ONLINE], EN3685 (Digital archive). SDO17130.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 198817 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 25 2021 2:25PM