Cockroad Wood Castle
{{Short description|Castle in Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name = Cockroad Wood Castle
|partof =
|location = Charlton Musgrove, Somerset
|image = 220px
|caption = Motte of Cockroad Wood Castle
|map_type = Somerset
|map_size = 200
|map_caption = Shown within Somerset and the British Isles
|type = Motte and bailey
|coordinates = {{coord|51.0881|N|2.36374|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|gridref = {{gbmapping|ST746321}}
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|demolished =
|condition = Earthworks remain
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Cockroad Wood Castle was a castle near Wincanton but now in the parish of Charlton Musgrove, Somerset, England.
History
Cockroad Wood Castle was a motte and bailey castle, probably built soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.Creighton, p.62. The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Ballands and Castle Orchard, and may have been built a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area. By 1086 the surrounding land was held by Walter of Douai, although no documentary evidence of the castle remains.[http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/53716 Motte and Bailey Castle, Cockroad Wood, Charlton Musgrove], Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.
The castle was built with a motte and two baileys, running along a north–south ridge, with a possible entrance to the east. The motte today is 13.5m wide, up to 7.5m high and is surrounded by a 1.25m deep ditch. The two baileys were probably linked to the motte by wooden bridges.
Today the castle site is a scheduled monument.
See also
Bibliography
- Creighton, Oliver Hamilton. (2005) Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England. London: Equinox. {{ISBN|978-1-904768-67-8}}.