Catterick Palet Hill

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Pallet Hill; Mons Palatinus

In the civil parish of Catterick. In the historic county of Yorkshire North Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Mound identified as the motte for a small motte and bailey castle within Catterick village. Possibly adapted from a natural hillock or a prehistoric round barrow. It was probably built as an adulterine castle during the reign of Stephen (1135-1154), in order to control the Great North Road which passed immediately to the east. The top of the steep-sided mound measures roughly 12m by 7m and there is some evidence for stone footings surviving below the turf. The bailey to the south west is now occupied by the church and churchyard (PastScape). There are no known documentary sources for the site.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE23959804

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 52333
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is MNY13086 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p28
    Jackson, M.J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire (Carlise) p8
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p18
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p515
    Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p45
    Whellan T, 1859, History and Topography of the City of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol2 p350
• Journal Articles
  • Butler, Lawrence, 1992, 'The Origins of the Honour of Richmond and its Castles' Chateau-Gallard Vol16 p69-80 [Reprinted in Liddiard, Robert, (ed), 2003, Anglo-Norman Castles (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)]
    Youngs, S.M., Clark, J. and Barry, T.B., 1984, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1983' Medieval Archaeology Vol28 p248 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    I'Anson, W.M., 1913, 'The castles of the North Riding' Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol22 p340-1
    Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol46 p197-217 esp215 http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo46brit#page/197/mode/1up
    MacLauchlan, H., 1849, 'On the Roman roads, camps, and other earthworks, between the Tees and the Swale, in the North Riding of the County of York' The Archaeological Journal Vol6 p345-6 http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo06brit#page/345/mode/1up