Chalgrave motte

In the civil parish of Chalgrave. In the historic county of Bedfordshire (Modern Authority of Bedfordshire, 1974 county of Bedfordshire).

Small motte and bailey, excavated in 1970 and since completely levelled. It had been constructed in two phases and abandoned in C13. Traces of a manorial site of several periods and of an C11 timber manor-house were found during the excavations, the latter under the motte. (PastScape)
Chalgrave, Bedfordshire, began as a small motte c. 110, built close to the church and over an area which had been occupied by a manorial complex of uncertain date. Towards the end of the same century the motte was enlarged to take a long single-storey timber building, and the encircling ditch was recut; clearly the first castle was found to be too small to provide the facilities required by a new lord. However, in spite of this, the castle was abandoned for reasons unknown in the late C12 or early C13 in favour of another site close by (Pinder and Davison 1988). (Kenyon 1990)
Was the initial small motte a symbolic mound marking the knightly status of the new Norman lord of the manor, who continued to occupy the Saxon thegnal buildings? Then enlarged to become a platform motte with a new hall.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL00952738

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 359611
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 721 '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, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p13
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p49, 355
    Kenyon, John, 1990, Medieval Fortifications (Leicester University Press) p11
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p7
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p207
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Wadmore, Beauchamp, 1920, The Earthworks of Bedfordshire (Bedford) p157-9
• Journal Articles
  • 1990, South Midlands Archaeology Vol20 p2
    Pinder, A. and Davison, B., 1988, ‘The excavation of a motte and bailey castle at Chalgrave, Bedfordshire, 1970' Bedfordshire Archaeology Vol18pp33-56
    1987, South Midlands Archaeology Vol17 p10-11
    1986, South Midlands Archaeology Vol16 p28
    Baker, D., 1982, 'Mottes, Moats and ringworks in Bedfordshire: Beauchamp Wadmore revisited' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p35-54 [plan]
    Davison, B.K., 1971, 'Chalgrave, Bedfordshire' CBA Group 9: South Midlands Archaeology newsletter Vol1 p16-17
    (Davidson), 1971, Medieval Archaeology Vol15 p145 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Dyer, 1962, Bedfordshire Magazine Vol8 p349-50
    1955, Bedfordshire Archaeologist Vol1 p43-5