Toddington Castle: A Medieval Motte-and-Bailey Stronghold
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- English
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page4 sections
History
Toddington Castle in Toddington, England, was a medieval motte-and-bailey stronghold, a type of castle built around a raised mound and an adjoining enclosed court. Its construction date is uncertain, although it is described as a 13th-century castle, while the stronghold was already recorded before that century. It was first built in timber and later replaced or strengthened in stone.
Early medieval stronghold
Before the 13th century, Toddington Castle was associated with Sir Paulinus Pegure, also known as Paul Pever. He leased the stronghold from Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk, a medieval English nobleman who held the earldom of Norfolk. This arrangement places the castle within the landholding and military world of medieval England.
Later uses and local tradition
During the 16th century, the castle mound was reused as a rabbit warren. From 1597, the mound was known as Conger Hill, a name that may have developed through the alteration of an earlier Celtic British name. The surviving monument is now known as Conger Hill Motte and is a Scheduled Monument, a legally protected archaeological site of national importance in England.
For approximately 150 years, a church bell was rung at Toddington every Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and a traditional occasion for making pancakes before Lent. Children then ran to Conger Hill, placed their ears against the ground, and supposedly listened to an “old woman” frying pancakes below. The outings ended in the early 1970s, possibly because the church was reluctant to remain associated with witchcraft, but the tradition was revived in 2012.
Remains
The surviving monument is an artificial earthen mound that formed the motte of the former castle. The castle’s early defensive and residential structures belonged to a motte-and-bailey layout, with the raised motte paired with an adjoining enclosed bailey. The complex began as a timber stronghold and later used stone, while the physical remains at Conger Hill are earthworks.
The mound stands on a height approximately 147 metres above sea level in predominantly flat terrain surrounded mainly by agricultural land. It rises 18 feet above the present bottom of the moat and has a flat summit measuring 92 feet in diameter. These surviving dimensions define the principal visible remains of the medieval castle.
