Fenny Castle is the remains of a motte and bailey castle in the parish of

Wookey Wookey is a village and civil parish west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. It is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, but not accessible to the public. It is sited on a natural hillock of

Lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

approximately above the surrounding flat land on the edge of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south a ...

. Such sites were typically chosen for castles in low-lying areas. The original builder of the castle is unknown, but it may be associated with the Anarchy, 1135–1153, a period of

English history England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). BBC News. Retrieved 7 February ...

during the reign of King Stephen which was marked by a succession crisis between the supporters of Stephen and those of his cousin, the Empress Matilda. In 1327 the owner was William atte Castle. By 1480 it was described as a ruin by William Worcestre who saw the plan of "all the houses and offices there". During the 19th century the quarrymen found twenty skeletons which were reported as dating from an unspecified period before the construction of the castle. The castle gave its name to a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of the parish of Wookey named 'Castle', one mile south-west of the main village. A stone cross in the hamlet, marking its importance, was still to be seen in 1839. Little remains of the stonework, and there is evidence of extensive quarrying. The mound is now covered in grass and scrub with a few trees. However, the site was described in ''The Archaeology of Somerset'' (1982) as still having "interesting and prominent earthworks".Michael Aston, Ian Burrow, ''The Archaeology of Somerset: a review to 1500 AD'' (1982), pp. 9-12

References

{{reflist Scheduled monuments in Mendip District Castles in Somerset Buildings and structures in Mendip District Motte-and-bailey castles

See also

References