Castle Orchard

In the civil parish of Stourton With Gasper. In the historic county of Wiltshire (Modern Authority of Wiltshire, 1974 county of Wiltshire).

Earthwork remains of a Motte and Bailey castle. The castle was excavated by Pitt-Rivers in 1879-80 when a quantity of Norman and Medieval pottery was found. Excavations also took place in 1939. (PastScape)
A very good example of a motte and bailey castle occupying the east end of a steep sided densely wooded spur. The motte has an uneven top resulting from excavations, particularly those of 1939 where the trenches are still open though in part collapsed. Such masonry as can be seen forms no intelligible plan. The bailey is to the west of the motte with a deep ditch cutting it off from the spur. In the south-east corner a quarried out platform seems to incorporate a building site but this platform may be of subsequent date and not connected with the fortifications. It now affords the only reasonable approach to the interior. There are no traces of bridge abutments at the ends of the bailey. Immediately north of the castle is a natural shelf, much lower than the spur. Part of this has been enclosed to form an outer ward, utilising a steep valley slope on the east and north east and constructing a bank and ditch along the north west to about the bailey ditch. The bank is now approximately 2.0m high and very spread, the outer ditch mostly completely silted, but 0.4m deep in two short sections. (PastScape–ref. Field Investigators Comments-F1 NVQ 10-JUN-70)
One of three closely space castles, the others being Ballands Castle (qv) and Cockroad Wood (qv), 'with which Castle Orchard may have formed part of a unified programme of castle-building' (Creighton). Creighton writes the site was fortified with a buttressed rectangular keep.
NB. This castle is sometimes placed in Penselwood parish, Somerset.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST769319

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 202574
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is ST73SE451 '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://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/smr/getsmr.php?id=36
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p100
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p278 [slight]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p501
    Aston, M., 1982, 'The medieval pattern 1000-1500AD' in Aston, M. and Burrow, I. (eds), The Archaeology of Somerset (Taunton, Somerset County Council) p125
    Pugh, R.B. and Crittall, Elizabeth (ed), 1957, VCH Wiltshire Vol1 pt1 p269
    Bothamley, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Somerset Vol2 p513-8
    Pitt-Rivers, A.H.L.F., 1884, Report on Excavations at the Pen Pits, near Penselwood (London)
    Kerslake, 1882, Caer Pensauelcoit (London)
    Kerslake, 1887, A Primaeval British Metropolis (Bristol)
    [of the works by Kerslake King writes "These are eccentric works, involving a controversy with Lane-Fox (who is, of course, the person later and more generally known as Pitt-Rivers). Mr Kerslake was concerned to contend that the castle and the large area of millstone quarries known as the Pen Pits constituted an ancient British city: he carried on his argument in a pamphlet called 'The Liberty of Independent Historical Research' (London, 1885), in which he disclaims any pretence at dating the actual castle (pp. 37-42)."
• Journal Articles
  • Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Wiltshire' Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Vol93 p111-2
    1952, Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Vol96 p10
    Clark, G.T., 1889, 'Contribution towards a complete list of moated mounds or burhs' The Archaeological Journal Vol46 p197-217 esp211 [mislocated in Somerset] http://www.archive.org/stream/archaeologicaljo46brit#page/197/mode/1up
    Winwood, H.H., 1884, 'The result of further excavations at PenPits' Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol30 p149-53
    Lane-Fox, A.H. and others [Pitt-Rivers, A.L.], 1879, 'Report of Pen Pits Exploration Committee" Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol25 p7-17