posted 02-12-2006 04:06 PM         

By this time though was rather damp after walking from Hartington to Pilsbury and back.

Banktop Motte was a new site to me (you see a lot more if you walk rather than drive. . . . .). From the raod to Pilsbury the motte above the river looks very impressive and the rock cut ditch to the ladward side very obvious. From this viewpoint there does indeed appear to be a second motte at the highest part of the hill above the other with a sloping bailey between.

However, from the road on the other side of Bank Top farm (closer to Hartington) and now at the back of the 'second motte' it looks less obviously scarped by man. On the old maps though this high point is marked as a 'tumulous' so it might be archaeological.

A very interesting site this being so close to Pilsbury but obviously quite a substantial earthwork. I'd love to know more and have a rootle around on the site itself (private land).

posted 02-12-2006 05:05 PM           

Earlier research
Comparatively little research had been undertaken on the castle site prior to the Arteamus investigations. The first record that has previously been accepted as referring to Pilsbury Castle appeared in a book cataloguing the collections of Micah Salt (Turner 1899, 139). This refers to a list of items received in 1896 from “the site of an ancient mansion, Castle Field, Crowdycote [sic]”. Following the list of relics, he states that “a passage like a cave had been made under the foundations”. Turner later referred to this excavation again (Turner 1903, 162), saying: “At Crowdicote [sic], near Hartington, there are remains of foundations of an old castle. A passage like a cave had been made under them. In it were found, about twenty years ago, a number of relics… The cottages near the spot are partly built of sandstone, evidently from the ruins.”

These relics were said to include silver coins (one of Henry III), an iron arrow point, bronze key, buckle and a bronze spur rowel, among other objects. They now seem to be lost.

It seems unlikely to us that this refers to Pilsbury Castle, although there appears to be no record of a Castle Field at Crowdecote.
• There are no physical signs of any excavation at Pilsbury Castle.
• There is no reason why Turner would not have named the site correctly.
• There are no cottages nearby fitting this description.
• The descriptions of the find site are inconsistent, first calling it a mansion and later the foundations of a castle.
• If the artefacts were found within the fabric of the motte, they provide a terminus post quem for its completion. Henry III was not crowned until 1216, which seems improbably late for the earthworks.

A much more likely candidate would seem to be the putative artificial hillock at Dove Mount in Crowdecote (Hurford and Sheppard in Guilbert 2005). This is further discussed below.

There is another apparent motte without any visible bailey on a similar raised area of ground at Bank Top, between Pilsbury and Hartington (SK 126616) (Plate 4). This is much smaller, measuring only 20 metres in diameter but with a rock-cut ditch 2.5 metres deep. A further motte site has recently been suggested at Crowdecote (SK100653) (Hurford and Sheppard in Guilbert 2005), also situated near the River Dove and now topped by a bungalow (Plate 5). It is tempting to speculate that these three sites might have been part of an intended series of defensive works on the boundaries of the de Ferrers’ lands, one in each of the three Domesday manors of Hartington, Pilsbury and Ludwell, and the now-lost site of Soham. An alternative explanation might be that Pilsbury Castle was built 1070–80, while the two smaller earthworks at Bank Top and Crowdecote were thrown up during the Anarchy.

The presence of another apparent ringwork at Bank Top, between Pilsbury and Hartington, and a third possibly man-made mound at Crowdecote perhaps implies that all might have been constructed as part of a planned line of defences along the river.

The fact that the castle site is overlooked from the limestone plateau is not of great importance. In the first place, the higher ground lay within the de Ferrers’ estates, while the ridge on the opposite bank of the river, which did not belong to them, was several hundred metres away. Secondly, timber castles had been initially conceived for defence against mounted soldiers, who had to dismount to fight, and to resist violent, hand-fought attacks on gates and other parts of their perimeters. Only later did siege warfare, with massive siege engines, develop (Higham and Barker 1992, 41).

posted 05-07-2006 05:18 PM         

Just below the scarp are the remanins of a water mill and then the crossing of the river. The sandstone remains of the mill might be medieval and are quite extensive.

Just above the mill is what are today marked as 'quarry workings' and a danger sign and looks like a limestone working of some sort. Clearly not connected with the mill buildings (being of different rock) the limestone face has a clear tunnel or cave opening in it?.

This is between the mill and the possible motte?.

I've not yet been able to get hold of the Derbyshire Archaeological Survey report mentioned by Peter so this might add more info on the area.

There are a number of sandstone cottages in Crowdecote including the old Toll House and the building just behind it. There are others too.

The river just here is not only a boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire (and it was a boundary in medieval times) it is also a boundary between Limestone (derbs) and Sandstone (staffs).

I'll open a post on Castle Duncan where I can include a few pictures taken today.

Cheers

posted 05-07-2006 05:43 PM         

Cheers

posted 05-09-2006 02:40 PM         

Chris - access to the mill is via a track through a couple of metal gates opposite the old Toll House (see my picture on CastleDuncan) that leads to a small water treatment plant. The gates are unlocked - the remains of the mill are just by the treatment plant.

I suspect it gets very overgrown in full summer as the vegetation is beginning to sprout up already. Should still be OK at the weekend of course.

Let us know how you get on.