Ballands Castle

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Ballands Castle
Penselwood, Somerset
Ballands Castle is located in Somerset
Ballands Castle
Ballands Castle
Coordinates grid reference ST753310
Type Motte and bailey
Site information
Condition Earthworks remain

Ballands Castle was a castle near the village of Penselwood, Somerset, England.

History

Balland Castle was a motte and bailey castle, probably built after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, near the village of Penselwood in Somerset.[1] The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Cockroad Wood and Castle Orchard, and may have been built as part of a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area.[1]

The motte of the castle is now around 5 m high, and up to 9 m wide.[2] The bailey lies to the south, and both the motte and the bailey are surrounded by ditches.[3]

Today the castle site is a scheduled monument.[4]

See also

Bibliography

  • Creighton, Oliver Hamilton. (2005) Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London: Equinox. ISBN 978-1-904768-67-8.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Creighton, p.62.
  2. Balland's Castle, Penselwood, Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.
  3. Creighton, p.62; Balland's Castle, Penselwood, Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.
  4. Balland's Castle, Gatehouse website, accessed 18 July 2011.

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