Lee Barton

In the civil parish of Morwenstow.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of Cornwall).

Traces of possible former moat

This site has been described as a Fortified Manor House.A high status fortified residence not capable of withstanding an army but able to resist an armed band. They are generally moated and have a gatehouse with loops and crenellations. They tend to be sited with much less consideration for tactical and strategic defence and with domestic considerations, such as ease of access, to the fore. The difference between a small castles and a fortified manor house is a subjective one and may well be an artificial division in that for contemporary medieval citizens it may not have existed. David King did not use this term and preferred the term Strong House, since not all fortified high status houses were manorial, but use of his term Strong House has not been widely adopted possible because it is widely used as a synonym for bastle. Such buildings did not require a licence to crenellate and having a licence to crenellate does not mean a building was certainly fortified. However, I have recorded all buildings issued a licence to crenellate under this group since they clearly were at least intended to be [re]constructed in a fortified style.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.

Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS22831220

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 32256

Books
- Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p47 [slight]

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

Lee Barton

Traces of possible former moat

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS22831220

Sources of information, references and further reading