What is a motte and bailey castle?

What a motte and bailey castle is

The motte was a mound of earth or rubble topped by a palisade and tower, and the bailey was a courtyard alongside it, enclosed by a bank and ditch, which usually held the domestic buildings. Historic England records over 600 motte castles and motte and bailey castles in England, and published surveys count about 741 in England and Wales. Mottes largely ceased to be built in England after about 1170 but continued to be built in Wales and the Marches, including by Welsh rulers from the early 12th century. Most mottes in England and Wales are less than 5 metres high, and only about 7 per cent are more than 10 metres high. Many castles were abandoned, while others were rebuilt in stone, often with a shell keep on the motte.

How motte and bailey castles look on LiDAR

A motte shows as a steep-sided, flat-topped mound, usually with a ditch around its base, and the bailey as an adjoining enclosure, often kidney-shaped, defined by a bank and ditch. Hillshade shows the steep sides of the motte clearly, and sky-view factor or negative openness shows the ditches around the motte and bailey. A local relief model shows low features in the bailey, such as building platforms, and nearby earthworks such as fishponds and hollow ways.

See LiDAR visualisations explained for what each method shows.

What can look like one

Windmill mounds, landscape-garden mounts, ice-house mounds, spoil heaps and large round barrows can look like a motte without a bailey. Some mottes were raised on natural knolls or on earlier mounds, so the shape alone does not prove the date.

Protection

Many motte and bailey castles are scheduled monuments, protected in England by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and in Wales by the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023.

Examples on the LiDAR

Where they are

Counties with the most motte and bailey castles that have a page here.

More examples