Sandal Castle: motte and bailey castle and shell keep castle

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Sandal Castle is a motte and bailey fortification situated near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, founded in the Norman period following the conquest of 1066. The castle comprises a substantial earthen mound surmounted by a stone shell keep, typical of twelfth-century military architecture, with additional bailey enclosures and defensive ditches visible in the landscape. The site gained historical prominence during the Wars of the Roses, most notably as the location of the Battle of Sandal Castle in 1460, where Richard, Duke of York was defeated and killed. The castle remained in use until the seventeenth century, when it was damaged during the English Civil War, after which it fell into decline and is now managed as an important monument illustrating Norman military engineering and late medieval history.

Sandal Castle: motte and bailey castle and shell keep castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012075. View the official record →

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