Federation of Old Cornwall Societies

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No. 247283 

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The comprehensive gazetteer of the medieval fortifications and castles of Cornwall

With thanks to Philip Davis

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List of Fortifications and Castles

Moresk Castle, St Clement

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

Castle, mentioned in a documentary source of C15 as having been destroyed c.1104, `old walls' recorded in C17. No recent physical evidence found.

This site has been described as a Masonry Castle/Timber Castle. These include castles designed from the outset to have masonry defences and timber castles where the fortifications or significant building have been replaced in Stone. This includes all the classic castle types such as Shell Keep, Great Tower and bailey, Enclosure, Concentric castles etc. These are the buildings which are what are generally thought of as castles and are well described in many books, web sites etc. Masonry is stonework bounded with mortar. A few castles have dry-stone walls, these are listed under earthwork castles, since the dry-stone walling basically requires a similar level of expense and skill as earthwork defences. / These are the earthwork and timber castles of the motte and bailey or ringwork form which where the vast majority of castles of the early conquest period, of the Marches in the 11th and 12th centuries and of the period during the reign of Stephen known as the Anarchy. They were generally fairly short lived, although some such castles survived for centuries, with the timber buildings and defences being replaced on occasions sometimes in timber and sometimes in Masonry (Alderton Castle in Northamptonshire was shown in a Time Team excavation to have been built about 1070 and to still have been having high status visitors in the C15-a fine piece of enamels horse harness being found in the gatehouse). Some of the smaller low mottes may have been adapted into moated manor houses, whilst others where abandoned and replaced by manor houses of a more comfortable and domestic nature. Timber castles varied greatly in size with some being massive constructions clearly deserving the term castle, whilst other were small mounds of minor knights and had a similar size, function and social status as the later pele towers. These small mottes are called 'castle' but this could be considered a rather loose use of the term.

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

Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SW85204344

 

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; 428761