Scheduled MonumentsEnglandHeighley Castle

Heighley Castle

England
List entry 1011070
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1011070
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.17 hectares
Grid reference
SJ 77236 46748
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Heighley Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Staffordshire, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The site comprises an earthen mound with an associated bailey, representing a typical form of early medieval defensive architecture employed by Norman lords to establish control over the English landscape. The castle's modest scale and construction method suggest it served a local administrative and defensive function within the post-Conquest settlement pattern. Like many such fortifications, Heighley Castle was likely abandoned in favour of more substantial stone structures as Norman rule became established and the immediate need for rapid, temporary defences diminished.

Heighley Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1011070. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Heighley Castle?

Heighley Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Staffordshire, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1011070.

Who is responsible for protecting Heighley Castle?

Heighley 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 1011070.

What other scheduled monuments are near Heighley Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Site of Old Madeley Manor: a moated site with late 16th century house, gardens and a watermill (4.5 km), Castle Hill motte (5 km), Lea Head moated site (5.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Heighley Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Heighley 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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Heighley Castle

Heighley Castle stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.