© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)
Pilsbury Castle Hills is a motte and bailey castle located in Derbyshire, England, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The site comprises a substantial mound with an adjoining bailey, representing the typical defensive earthwork construction employed by Norman lords to establish control over newly conquered territories. The castle's strategic position in the Derbyshire landscape reflects the importance placed by its Norman builders on command of the local area, though documentary evidence of its specific origins and the identity of its founder remains limited. Like many motte and bailey castles, Pilsbury was likely superseded by later stone fortifications or simply abandoned as military architecture evolved, leaving the earthwork remains as evidence of early Norman settlement and control in the region.
Pilsbury Castle Hills motte and bailey castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1011199. View the official record →
Pilsbury Castle Hills is a motte and bailey castle located in Derbyshire, England, dating to the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1011199.
Pilsbury Castle Hills 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 1011199.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Anglo-Scandinavian cross fragment, St Peter's churchyard (8.7 km), Elderbush Cave (9.1 km), Wetton Low bowl barrow (9.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Pilsbury Castle Hills motte and bailey 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.
Pilsbury Castle Hills motte and bailey castle stands on Bowland High Group And Craven Group (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.