Scheduled MonumentsEnglandKimberworth motte and bailey castle

Kimberworth motte and bailey castle

England
List entry 1013469
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1013469
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.23 hectares
Grid reference
SK 40554 93499
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Kimberworth motte and bailey castle is a twelfth-century fortification located in South Yorkshire, situated near Rotherham. The monument consists of a substantial mound with a flattened summit, characteristic of motte and bailey design, which served as a defensive stronghold during the Norman period. The site represents an important example of early medieval military architecture in the region, demonstrating the strategic use of earthwork fortifications by the Norman nobility to establish control over Yorkshire following the Conquest. Though now reduced to earthwork remains, the castle's surviving topography preserves evidence of its original layout and continues to be of archaeological significance for understanding settlement patterns and feudal landholding in twelfth-century England.

Kimberworth motte and bailey castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1013469. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Kimberworth motte and bailey castle?

Kimberworth motte and bailey castle is a twelfth-century fortification located in South Yorkshire, situated near Rotherham. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1013469.

Who is responsible for protecting Kimberworth motte and bailey castle?

Kimberworth motte and bailey 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 1013469.

What other scheduled monuments are near Kimberworth motte and bailey castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Roman Ridge: SE of Hill Top (section 700yds (660m) long, Meadowhall Road to Hill Top) (1.4 km), Roman Ridge: section 600yds (550m) long between Jenkin Lane (now Road) and Tylers Street (3 km), Roman Ridge: section 180yds (160m) long on SE slopes of Wincobank Hill (3.4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Kimberworth motte and bailey castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Kimberworth motte and bailey 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 Kimberworth motte and bailey castle

Kimberworth motte and bailey castle stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.