Details

The monument includes a medieval motte on a natural rise above the valley of
the River Taw, and has commanding views over the surrounding countryside.
The monument survives as an oval mound which measures 49m from north to south
and 43m from east to west at its base, and is 9m high. To the north there is a
section of ditch which measures 15m wide and up to 3m deep. This peters out to
the south at both the western and eastern sides of the mound where it is
preserved as a buried feature.
The motte is thought to date to the mid-1100s.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the
Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte,
surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of
examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey,
adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bai1ey castles acted as
garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in
many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal
administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte castles
generally occupied strategic positions dominating their immediate locality
and, as a result, are the most visually impressive monuments of the early
post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape. Over 600 motte castles
and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from
most regions. Some 100-150 examples do not have baileys and are classified as
motte castles. As one of a restricted range of recognised early post-Conquest
monuments, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and
the development of the feudal system. Although many were occupied for only a
short period of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from
the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other
types of castle.

Millsome Castle survives well and contains archaeological information relating
to Norman military activity in this part of Devon.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SS60NE13, (1992)

Source: Historic England