Monument record MDO19588 - Civil war defences Sherborne Old Castle, Castleton

Two mounds outside Sherborne Old Castle curtain wall are though to be civil war defensive outworks. One, on the NE side of the castle forms a low mound nad has been excavated by C. E. Bean. The other forms a semi-hexagonal shape in plan and is located on the western side of the castle.

Two mounds outside Sherborne Old Castle curtain wall are though to be civil war defensive outworks. One, on the NE side of the castle forms a low mound nad has been excavated by E.A. Rawlence C. E. Bean. The other forms a semi-hexagonal shape in plan and is located on the western side of the castle.

Excavations on supposed site of chapel on E. side of Castle and moat:
E.A. Rawlence partly conducted an unpublished excavation on a mound marked as the site of a supposed chapel on the east side of Sherborne Castle and moat during 1932.
C.E. Bean visited the excavation and recalls that it revealed a small building of relatively late date, probably erected during the lifetime of the 1st Earl of Bristol.

C.E. Bean conducted a further excavation on the site in 1951. this revealed that the mound was ‘…probably a civil war defence outpost platform, concealing the remains of a 12th century building of substantial construction…lying E-W’. During the civil war the remains of the building were covered with clay and rock, and trenches were dug on the north and east sides of the mound so created (1).

To the west of the site is a semi-hexagonal earthwork which is 25 metres in diameter and circa 1.5 metres in height. This represents the remains of a Civil War siegework (2).

<1> Bean, C E, 1951, Excavations at Sherborne Old Castle; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO10286.

<2> National Monuments Record, NMR Monument Record, NMR UID: 199485; (Index). SDO9937.

Record last edited

Nov 18 2015 3:29PM