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Philip Davis
About
the
Federation
List
of Fortifications and Castles
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Week
Orchard
In the
civil parish of Week St Mary.
In the historic county of Cornwall (Modern
Authority of Cornwall, 1974 county of
Cornwall).
Week
Orchard settlement earthworks up to 0.5m high appear to overlie an
irregular mound circa 30m east to west by 25m and up to 1.5m high. The
possible remains of a motte.
This site
has been described as a Timber Castle;
Timber Castle : 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.
Cropmarks/slight
earthworks remains.
The
Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS23460035
Sources
of information, references and further reading
Most of the sites or buildings recorded
in this web site are NOT open to the
public and permission to visit a site must always be
sought from the landowner or tenant
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The information on this web page may be
derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of
English
Heritage and other individuals and organisations.
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It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled
Monument without consent. It is a destruction of
everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence
from any site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal
detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
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resource as possible by contacting
me if you see errors or if you can add information.
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THE GATEHOUSE 
