Castle Neroche: Norman Castle and Earthwork Monument in Somerset
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Iron Age, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Celtic, English, Norman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Iron Age Origins
Castle Neroche is an abandoned Norman castle in the United Kingdom, probably built in the eleventh century by the Norman aristocrat Robert, Count of Mortain. It stands near Curland and Staple Fitzpaine in Somerset, on a hill of the Blackdown Hills, and incorporates earthworks associated with an earlier Iron Age enclosure. The name is believed to come from Old English terms linked with a medieval hunting dog, producing the alternative form “Castle Rache” and the approximate meaning “camp where hunting dogs were kept.”
The site began as an Iron Age hill fort or enclosure, although its precise purpose remains uncertain. Explanations for such enclosures include responses to invasion, social tensions, population growth, and economic changes connected with the growing use of iron. The archaeologist Barry Cunliffe regarded population growth and the tensions it produced as important, while arguing that hill forts were not necessarily built specifically for warfare.
Nearby discoveries indicate activity in the wider area before the castle. Mesolithic flint artefacts were found, and a Bronze Age copper axe was discovered in 1857. Harold St George Gray, a British archaeologist who excavated in Somerset and elsewhere, investigated Castle Neroche in 1903.
Norman and Later Medieval Use
Robert, Count of Mortain, a half-brother of William the Conqueror, probably established the Norman castle during the eleventh century after the conquest of England in 1066. Archaeological evidence indicates successive stages of development. An initial rampart enclosed about 3 hectares, followed soon after by a smaller inner ringwork, an earth-and-timber fortification enclosed by a circular or oval rampart. The site was later converted into a motte-and-bailey castle, combining a raised defensive mound with an adjoining enclosed courtyard.
By the beginning of the twelfth century, Castle Neroche was no longer in regular use. It was reused during the Anarchy, the English civil war caused by the disputed succession between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. The castle may also have continued later in the twelfth century as an operating base for administrators of the surrounding royal forest, who conducted operations against poachers.
Castle Neroche is protected as a Scheduled Monument, a designation under English law for archaeological or historic sites of importance.
Remains
Hill Fort Earthworks
The monument occupies a hill rising to about 260 metres on the northern escarpment of the Blackdown Hills. Its position and overall form resemble those of other Iron Age enclosures. The earthworks are unusually extensive for a Norman castle, suggesting that developed earlier features were incorporated into the later layout. The earlier enclosure appears to have been reinforced with an additional rampart and an outer enclosure, while only limited Iron Age remains are visible.
Norman Defences
The surviving castle is an earthwork monument rather than a standing building. Its Norman defences form a motte-and-bailey arrangement. The motte, a raised earth mound that usually carried a fortified structure, rises about 6.1 metres. One corner of the motte served as a barbican, a fortified entrance or outer defensive work. These earthworks preserve the principal physical form of the abandoned castle and show how the Norman fortification was fitted into the earlier enclosure.
