Clough Castle

This is an excellent example of an Anglo Norman earthwork castle with added stone tower. A small kidney-shaped bailey lies south of a large mound, originally separated from it by a 2.1m-deep ditch. Excavation on the mound’s summit in 1950 revealed that originally (late 12th or very early 13th century) there was a timber palisade round the summit. Pits uncovered within the palisaded area have been interpreted as being used by archers. The foundation of a long rectangular hall was found in the north-east half of the area, probably built in the mid-13th century, and later in the century a small rectangular stone keep was built to the south-west. This still survives, two storeys high. In the late Middle Ages, apparently after a period of disuse, it was restored and added to, resulting in an L-shaped tower-house, though the precise phases of use of this site have been debated. Dudley Waterman’s excavation at this site in 1950 was a pioneering piece of research.

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