Scheduled Monuments›England›Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church

England
List entry 1018721
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1018721
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.4 hectares
Grid reference
SU 55732 88026
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church is a Norman fortification situated in Berkshire, England. The monument consists of a substantial earthwork motte, characteristic of early medieval military architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its proximity to the parish church suggests integration within the settlement hierarchy of medieval Berkshire, with the castle potentially serving defensive and administrative functions for the local Norman lord. The earthwork survives as a testament to the military organisation and settlement patterns established in southern England following the Norman Conquest.

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1018721. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church?

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church is a Norman fortification situated in Berkshire, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1018721.

Who is responsible for protecting Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church?

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church 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 1018721.

What other scheduled monuments are near Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Grim's Ditch; section on Aston Upthorpe Down (5.1 km), Lowbury Hill camp (6 km), Two round barrows 520m and 550m north of Lower Chance Farm (6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church'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

Grim's Ditch; section on Aston Upthorpe Down
5.1 km
Lowbury Hill camp
6 km
Two round barrows 520m and 550m north of Lower Chance Farm
6 km
Dovecote at Manor Farm, South Stoke
6 km
Bowl barrow 310m south east of Lower Chance Farm
6.4 km
Bowl barrow in the north-west corner of Town Copse
6.5 km
Bowl barrow 500m west of Churn Park Cottage
7 km
Dovecote 60m north of Place Manor Cottage
7.9 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church

Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church stands on Gault Formation And Upper Greensand Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.

The wider landscape

Around Motte castle immediately west of St John the Baptist's Church

Dorchester-on-ThamesRoman town · ~4.1 milesSilchesterRoman town · ~16.7 milesAlchesterRoman town · ~20 milesMildenhallRoman town · ~24.1 milesBattle of Chalgrove 1643Battle (1643) · ~8.3 milesFirst Battle of NewburyBattle (1643) · ~15.3 miles
Domesday entry for Moreton, Berkshire →
All Scheduled Monuments