Scheduled Monuments›England›Motte and bailey at Denham Castle

Motte and bailey at Denham Castle

England
List entry 1006020
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1006020
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.32 hectares
Grid reference
TL 74703 62843
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Denham Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated in Suffolk, England, representing a typical Norman fortification of the eleventh or twelfth century. The monument comprises an earthen mound, or motte, accompanied by an attached or adjacent bailey, or defended enclosure, characteristic of early post-Conquest military architecture in England. Such fortifications served as administrative and defensive centres during the Norman period, though Denham Castle appears to have been relatively modest in scale compared to some contemporary examples. The site survives principally as earthworks, preserving evidence of Norman settlement and military organisation in the East Anglian landscape.

Motte and bailey at Denham Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006020. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Motte and bailey at Denham Castle?

Denham Castle is a motte and bailey castle situated in Suffolk, England, representing a typical Norman fortification of the eleventh or twelfth century. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006020.

Who is responsible for protecting Motte and bailey at Denham Castle?

Motte and bailey at Denham 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 1006020.

What other scheduled monuments are near Motte and bailey at Denham Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Mary's Church (3.8 km), Gesyns: moated site 600m south east of Elms Farm (4.4 km), Sylhall: moated site 520m south of Elms Farm (4.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Motte and bailey at Denham Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Motte and bailey at Denham 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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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

St Mary's Church
3.8 km
Gesyns: moated site 600m south east of Elms Farm
4.4 km
Sylhall: moated site 520m south of Elms Farm
4.9 km
All Saints' Church, remains of
5 km
Lidgate Castle and C16 Fortified Manorial Complex
5.4 km
Roman villa SE of Lidgate
5.9 km
Moated site at Depden Hall
6.5 km
Moated site at Seven Elms Green, 210m south west of Erratts Farm
8.5 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Motte and bailey at Denham Castle

Motte and bailey at Denham Castle stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

The wider landscape

Around Motte and bailey at Denham Castle

Grimes GravesArchaeological site · ~17.3 milesCambridgeRoman town · ~18.9 milesGreat ChesterfordRoman town · ~19.5 miles
Domesday entry for Desning, Suffolk →
All Scheduled Monuments