Scheduled MonumentsEnglandSaxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond

Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond

England
List entry 1008226
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1008226
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
2.83 hectares
Grid reference
SE 47708 36684
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Saxton Castle is a motte and bailey earthwork located in North Yorkshire, England, representing Norman-period fortification of the twelfth century or later. The site comprises a substantial mound with bailey enclosure, which was subsequently adapted for residential use during the later medieval period when a manor house was constructed within or adjacent to the earlier defensive work. The castle is situated within a broader landscape of medieval land management, evidenced by associated field systems, a trackway, and a fishpond that reflect the agricultural and manorial economy of the surrounding estate. The monument survives primarily as earthwork remains and demonstrates the characteristic evolution of fortified sites in northern England from early castle to later manor settlement.

Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1008226. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond?

Saxton Castle is a motte and bailey earthwork located in North Yorkshire, England, representing Norman-period fortification of the twelfth century or later. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1008226.

Who is responsible for protecting Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond?

Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond 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 1008226.

What other scheduled monuments are near Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Medieval manorial complex, garden and water management features, St Mary's chapel, and a linear earthwork forming part of the Aberford Dyke system (1.5 km), Site of 'King Athelstan's Palace', immediately north of the church (3.3 km), Linear earthworks known as Woodhouse Moor Rein and South Dyke, part of the Aberford Dyke system (3.4 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond

Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond stands on Zechstein Group, bedrock that formed in the Late Permian. The rock here is dolomitised limestone and dolomite.