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Visiting the Past: Finding and Understanding Britain's Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Brampton Castle Mound and Well - Misc. Earthwork in England in Cumbria

Submitted by Anne T on Sunday, 04 September 2022  Page Views: 814

Multi-periodSite Name: Brampton Castle Mound and Well Alternative Name: Mote Castle Mound and Beacon Station
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 2.281 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Cumbria Type: Misc. Earthwork
Nearest Town: Brampton
Map Ref: NY5333261284
Latitude: 54.944019N  Longitude: 2.730048W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : About 20 metres from the top of the motte (and well over half way up from ground level), it's difficult to try and capture the scale of this motte in a photograph. Paths run all around the motte at this level, with further paths leading up slope to the monument to the Earl of Carlisle at NY 53342 61277. There is a sharp drop down from this level down to the road below, although walkers are ... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Misc. Earthwork in Cumbria

This site is 12th/13th century, so later than most of the sites on the Portal. I've submitted this because we've visited Brampton on many occasions and been unaware of this very interesting site. A scheduled monument, it is recorded as Historic England List ID 1013967, "The Mote Castle mound, medieval motte castle and site of late medieval beacon".

The site is heavily wooded, so it's difficult to ascertain the true height and scale of this site, which is truly impressive and much, much larger than other traditional motte sites we've visited previously. Sitting next to a popular 2-mile ridge walk around Brampton, various paths surround the motte, at various levels around its height.

The Historic England entry tells us: located on the summit of Castle Hill in Brampton which was later used as the site of a signalling beacon during the 15th century. The motte is artificially cut out of the higher end of a long ridge and consists of an oval-shaped summit plateau measuring c.36m by 18m. About 12m downslope there is an encircling ditch c.5m wide and up to 3m deep which is flanked by an outer bank measuring c.5m wide and up to 2m high. There are extensive views to the west, north and east from the summit of the hill and it is for this reason that the hilltop was later used as the site of a beacon. This system of beacons was created to warn of impending attack by Scottish invaders and was developed from the time of Henry III (1216-72). "

Downslope can be found the Moat Well, at NY 53226 61255, which now has a very heavy, Victorian frontage with tank behind, but looks as if may have been one of the water sources for the original castle.

We parked near the Howard Memorial Shelter at NY 53575 61221, then walked up the footpaths, turning left just before the house at the top of the slope, progressing round the middle of the motte, then dropping down to Moat Well.
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Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : Trying to capture the top of the motte, from about 20m (in vertical height) below its summit. There is a steep drop from the path around the motte at this level down to the road below. Without the trees, the views must be impressive. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : The view from just over half way up the steep motte slope, looking down into Brampton village. If it weren't for the trees, the views would be impressive, with views to the west, north and east. Moat Well is at ground level, at the edge of the clump of trees to the right of the photograph. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : First view of Moat Well, having taken a circuitous walk around the side of the motte, to avoid the steep climb down. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : The frontage of the well is impressively heavy Victorian structure. From its location at the base of the castle mound, it may have been one of the water sources for the original castle. A steep climb from the well to the top of the mound, though! (Vote or comment on this photo)

Brampton Castle Mound and Well
Brampton Castle Mound and Well submitted by Anne T : There is still a trickle of water issuing from the well basin, even after a prolonged dry period. A tank appears to have been built into the hillside just behind the well frontage.

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