Saxton Motte

In the civil parish of Saxton With Scarthingwell. In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Medieval Motte and Bailey castle which has been altered by the building of a later medieval manor house in the north east corner of the bailey and also by the creation of small enclosures, a hollow way and a pond beside the motte. The motte is 40m in diameter at the base and about 2m high.A slight 8m wide ditch surrounds the mound and there is a hollow area at the top which marks the site of the tower which was originally located here. The Manor House, formerly the residence of the Hungate family, was demolished in the early C19 but its foundations survive immediately to the south of Manor Farm.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE477367

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 54503
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is MNY10761; MNY20547 '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) p83
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p524