Mount Thorold, Peterborough

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Toot Hill; Tout Hill; Mont-Turold

In the civil parish of Peterborough. In the historic county of Northamptonshire (Soke of Peterborough) (Modern Authority of Peterborough; City of, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

Rather damaged motte and possible bailey
This mound, apparently that of a motte castle, stands within the garden of the Deanery. It is of no great size or height and there is now no sign of a ditch or of further entrenchments. The ground on which it stands is by nature slightly higher than that to the W, but is not more than 30 ft above the river Nene, which flows E a quarter of a mile to the S. The summit of the mound is flat and measures 42 ft in diameter. The elongation towards the SE may or may not be part of the original plan; it may be a portion of a rampart, or the mound may once have been much larger; as it stands in cultivated ground in the middle of the city, no doubt there have been considerable changes. Grass covers the sides and top, but one or two trees grow on its southern slope. In size it approaches Towcester, Bury Mount and other earthworks in the county. Motte in NE corner of Cathedral Close, on gravel at about 25 ft above OD. Little is known of its date or history, except that, traditionally, it was built by Abbot Thorold of Peterborough (AD 1069 - 1098). It consists of a large circular mound, 120 ft in diameter and 20 ft high, with a flat circular top 35 ft across. Traces of a surrounding ditch survive only on the NW where there is a slight hollow 20 ft wide and 2 ft deep. This mound stands in the Garden of the Deanery and was said to have been raised by Abbot Thorold 1069 - 1098 as a defence against his own monks and dismantled by Martin de Bec. This is a small motte castle. In excellent condition. The motte is approximately 10 - 12m high, diameter difficult to assess. It is covered in grass, bluebells, cow parsley, shrubs and supports a large chestnut, sycamore and conifer. The summit is flat and bears a stone marker. A path marked by slates lies on the S face. There is a ramp on the S side. The remainder of the area is to the W and S under lawn and flower beds. The walls surrounding the area are in reasonable condition, ivy covered in places. A few new trees have been planted to replace those felled. This has caused minimal disturbance. (City of Peterborough HER)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL19469876

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 364259
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 01768 '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.

• Web site links
  • http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/142/peterboroughcastle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, Index and Amendments to Mike Salter's English Castles Books (Malvern) p8
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p169 [slight]
    Taylor, Alison, 1986, Castles of Cambridgeshire (Cambridge)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p275
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    RCHME, 1969, Peterborough New Town: a survey of the antiquities in the areas of development p3
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p185-6
    Downman, E.A., 1906, in Serjeantson, R.M., Ryland, W. and Adkins, D. (eds), VCH Northampton Vol2 p406, 448, 456
• Journal Articles
  • Mackreth, D., 1974, Durobrivae: a review of Nene Valley Archaeology Vol2 p24-6
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#norts13]