Scheduled MonumentsEnglandBolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.

Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.

England
List entry 1012496
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1012496
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
4.23 hectares
Grid reference
SK 47093 70520
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Bolsover Castle is a Derbyshire fortification that evolved through multiple periods of significant architectural development. Founded as an eleventh-century motte and bailey earthwork, the castle was substantially rebuilt in the twelfth century with the construction of a stone tower keep, which represents an important phase in English military architecture. The site underwent radical transformation in the seventeenth century when it was developed into a fashionable country house, reflecting changing attitudes to domestic comfort and aesthetic display among the English nobility. The castle's physical remains thus document the transition from medieval fortress to early modern elite residence, preserving evidence of construction methods and domestic arrangements spanning nearly six centuries.

Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house. is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012496. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.?

Bolsover Castle is a Derbyshire fortification that evolved through multiple periods of significant architectural development. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1012496.

Who is responsible for protecting Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.?

Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house. 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 1012496.

What other scheduled monuments are near Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Medieval town defences, 183m south east of church of St Mary and St Lawrence, and 335m north east of Bolsover Castle (0.3 km), Four watchtowers SW of town (0.8 km), Sutton Scarsdale Hall (3.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.

Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house. stands on Zechstein Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Permian. The rock here is dolomitised limestone and dolomite.

The wider landscape

Around Bolsover Castle: eleventh century motte and bailey castle, twelfth century tower keep castle and seventeenth century country house.

ThorpeRoman town · ~21.8 miles