© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Howden Motte is a medieval motte located in Selkirkshire, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2256. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, wacke formation dating to the Wenlock period, which has influenced both the site's geology and the availability of stone building materials in the locality. Like other Lowland Scottish mottes, this earthwork represents a form of fortified residence built by Norman and Anglo-Norman lords during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The motte consists of an artificial or substantially enlarged mound, typical of the motte-and-bailey castle tradition that spread through Britain and Scotland following the Norman conquest. The Hawick Group wacke bedrock underlying the site provides a firm foundation, though the soft stone would have offered limited opportunity for stone construction compared to fortifications built on granite or other harder igneous rocks. The Selkirkshire location places Howden within a region of significant medieval settlement and lordship establishment.
Mottes of this type generally supported timber palisades and wooden structures on their summits, with the mound itself serving as both defensive barrier and status symbol. Howden's survival as an earthwork demonstrates the durability of this defensive form, which remained in use even after stone castle-building became established practice in Scotland during the later medieval period.
Howden,motte is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2256. View the official record →
Howden Motte is a medieval motte located in Selkirkshire, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2256.
Howden,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.
Howden,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 SM2256.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Oakwood, Roman fort and camp SSE of (3.7 km), North Synton,fort (3.9 km), Clerklands,fort (4.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Howden,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.
Howden,motte stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.