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Hawick Moat Park is a medieval motte located in Roxburghshire, south-eastern Scotland. The monument stands as a substantial earthwork, representative of Norman fortification strategies employed throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Mottes were constructed to serve as defensive strongholds and administrative centres, with their elevated positions providing strategic command of surrounding lands and communication routes. The mound itself would originally have supported a wooden palisade and keep, with an attendant bailey or courtyard at its base, though these superstructures no longer survive.
The motte's construction exploited the natural geology of the Hawick Group, a Wenlock-age wacke bedrock that characterises this region of the Scottish Borders. The underlying stone would have provided a stable foundation for the earthwork, whilst the local landscape offered suitable materials for building and fortification. The monument's presence reflects the period of Anglo-Norman influence in the borders during the high medieval period, a time when such fortifications were instrumental in establishing control over disputed territories.
Hawick Moat Park is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1702. This designation recognises the site's archaeological and historical significance as evidence of medieval settlement patterns and defensive strategies in the Scottish Borders. The motte remains an important record of the region's medieval past, preserving information about feudal organisation and territorial control during a formative period of Scottish history.
Hawick Moat Park, motte is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1702. View the official record →
Hawick Moat Park is a medieval motte located in Roxburghshire, south-eastern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1702.
Hawick Moat Park, motte dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Hawick Moat Park, motte is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM1702.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pen Sike,earthwork 300m SW of Penchrise Pen (8.2 km), The Catrail,linear earthwork,650m long,on SE slope of White Hill (8.4 km), The Dod, settlement, 110m NW of Filter Cottage, Dodburn (8.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Hawick Moat Park, motte'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.
Hawick Moat Park, motte stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.