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Castleskreen motte is a medieval motte-and-bailey castle located in County Down, Northern Ireland. The monument represents a significant reuse of earlier settlement, with the motte constructed upon a prehistoric rath, demonstrating the medieval practice of fortifying existing earthworks. This Early Christian rath was thus adapted to serve as the defensive mound of the castle, whilst an adjacent bailey provided the enclosed courtyard for domestic and military purposes. The site rests upon Hawick Group wacke, a sedimentary bedrock that formed during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era, providing a firm foundation for the earthwork fortifications. The combination of rath and motte-and-bailey represents successive layers of settlement and defence spanning from the early medieval Irish period through to the Anglo-Norman establishment in Ulster. Castleskreen is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division, recognising its archaeological and historical significance as a palimpsest of settlement patterns in medieval Down.
Castleskreen motte. motte on rath, reused as bailey is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 8033. View the official record →
Castleskreen motte is a medieval motte-and-bailey castle located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 8033.
Castleskreen motte. motte on rath, reused as bailey dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a motte & bailey. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castleskreen motte. motte on rath, reused as bailey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 8033.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Windmill stump (c.f. ihr 3454 for details) (2.2 km), Rathmullan motte, rathmullan mound, rathmullan. raised rath reused as motte (2.9 km), A.p. site - barrow? (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Castleskreen motte. motte on rath, reused as bailey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Castleskreen motte. motte on rath, reused as bailey stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.