Scheduled Monuments›England›Ballands Castle

Ballands Castle

England
List entry 1014713
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1014713
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.66 hectares
Grid reference
ST 75360 31017
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Ballands Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Somerset, England, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The site consists of an earthen mound with an associated bailey, representing a common form of early medieval military architecture employed during the establishment of Norman control in southwest England. The castle's modest scale and construction method suggest it served defensive and administrative functions for a local Norman lord or family during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Like many such earthwork castles, Ballands was likely superseded by more substantial stone fortifications or rendered obsolete as the region stabilised under Norman rule.

Ballands Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1014713. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Ballands Castle?

Ballands Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Somerset, England, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1014713.

Who is responsible for protecting Ballands Castle?

Ballands Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1014713.

What other scheduled monuments are near Ballands Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Motte and bailey castle in Cockroad Wood (1.3 km), Pen Pits quern quarries SE of Hart Hill (1.5 km), Pen Pits quern quarries N of Combe Bottom (1.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Ballands Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Ballands Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Motte and bailey castle in Cockroad Wood
1.3 km
Pen Pits quern quarries SE of Hart Hill
1.5 km
Pen Pits quern quarries N of Combe Bottom
1.7 km
Orchard Castle
1.8 km
Kenwalch's Castle: a large univallate hillfort on Pen Hill
2.6 km
Bristol High Cross
3.7 km
Longbury long barrow 600m north west of Slaughtergate Farm
5.1 km
Four bowl barrows on Long Hill, 220m west of Mere Castle
5.7 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Ballands Castle

Ballands Castle stands on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

The wider landscape

Around Ballands Castle

Cadbury CastleArchaeological site · ~8.4 milesIlchesterRoman town · ~15.3 milesGlastonbury AbbeyArchaeological site · ~16.4 milesBathRoman town · ~21 milesBattle of Lansdown (Hill) 1643Battle (1643) · ~24.3 milesBattle of LansdowneBattle (1643) · ~24.5 miles
Domesday entry for Penselwood, Somerset →
All Scheduled Monuments