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Wamphray Motte and Bailey is a medieval fortification situated 100 metres north-north-east of Wamphray House in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The monument consists of the earthwork remains characteristic of motte and bailey design, a defensive form widely adopted across Britain and northern France in the Norman period and early medieval centuries. The site's strategic position in the rolling terrain of the Scottish Borders reflects the defensive requirements of the period.
The motte and bailey sits upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke deposited during the Wenlock period of the Silurian. This solid geological foundation would have provided stable ground for the construction of the fortification's earthworks. The natural landscape of the area, with its river valleys and pastoral land, shaped the choice of this location for medieval settlement and control.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled ancient monument under reference SM714, recognising its significance as evidence of medieval settlement patterns and territorial organisation in the Scottish Borders. The earthworks survive as a testament to early medieval defensive architecture in this region of south-western Scotland.
Wamphray,motte and bailey 100m NNE of Wamphray House is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM714. View the official record →
Wamphray Motte and Bailey is a medieval fortification situated 100 metres north-north-east of Wamphray House in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM714.
Wamphray,motte and bailey 100m NNE of Wamphray House dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte and bailey 100m nne of wamphray house. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Wamphray,motte and bailey 100m NNE of Wamphray House is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM714.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Broomhillbank Hill, fort (5.4 km), Broom Hill,fort 1400m NW of Shaw (5.5 km), Broomhillbank, fort 910m ENE of (5.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Wamphray,motte and bailey 100m NNE of Wamphray House'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.
Wamphray,motte and bailey 100m NNE of Wamphray House stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.