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Lyonshall Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Herefordshire, England, dating to the Norman period, likely constructed in the late eleventh or early twelfth century. The site comprises a substantial earthwork mound with an associated bailey, typical of early Norman defensive architecture in the Welsh Marches. The castle represents an important element of the Norman military strategy for controlling the borderlands, though the site saw limited structural development beyond its initial earthwork phase. Today the monument survives as a significant archaeological landscape, with the motte remaining a prominent topographical feature, though no substantial stone structures are recorded to have survived from its period of occupation.
Lyonshall Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1001720. View the official record →
Lyonshall Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortification located in Herefordshire, England, dating to the Norman period, likely constructed in the late eleventh or early twelfth century. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1001720.
Lyonshall 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 1001720.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Offa's Dyke: the section E of Garden Wood, extending SE 85yds (80m) (0.9 km), Offa's Dyke: section NW of Holme Marsh extending 615yds (560m) to the railway (1.4 km), Mound S of Woodbrook (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Lyonshall Castle'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.
Lyonshall Castle stands on Pridoli Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Pridoli. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.