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Ravensworth motte and bailey castle is a Norman fortification located in North Yorkshire, England, comprising a substantial motte surrounded by a bailey with defensive earthworks. The site demonstrates characteristic 11th or 12th century military architecture, with water defence features including a moat system that exploited the natural topography to create a formidable stronghold. Associated with the castle are the remains of a park pale, a linear earthwork that demarcated a medieval deer park, and evidence of a shrunken medieval village whose settlement pattern reflects the historical relationship between the fortification and its surrounding community. The monument survives as a significant example of Norman castle construction and its associated medieval landscape features.
Ravensworth motte and bailey castle, water defence features, park pale and shrunken medieval village is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1013087. View the official record →
Ravensworth motte and bailey castle is a Norman fortification located in North Yorkshire, England, comprising a substantial motte surrounded by a bailey with defensive earthworks. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1013087.
Ravensworth motte and bailey castle, water defence features, park pale and shrunken medieval village 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 1013087.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Franciscan friary (7.1 km), The Bar, a surviving gateway originally part of Richmond’s medieval town wall (7.4 km), Richmond Castle: eleventh to fourteenth century enclosure castle (7.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Ravensworth motte and bailey castle, water defence features, park pale and shrunken medieval village'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.
Ravensworth motte and bailey castle, water defence features, park pale and shrunken medieval village stands on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.