Marshwood Castle was a

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

castle in

Marshwood Marshwood is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, situated on the northern edge of the Marshwood Vale approximately northeast of Lyme Regis. Dorset County Council estimate that the parish had a population of 310 in 2013. Figures p ...

, Dorset, within the

Vale of Marshwood The Marshwood Vale (or Vale of Marshwood) is a low-lying, bowl-shaped valley of Lower Lias clay, in the western tip of the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies to the north of the A35 trunk road between the towns of Bridport and Lyme R ...

. It was built by

William de Mandeville William de Mandeville (died before 1130) was an Anglo-Norman baron and Constable of the Tower of London. Life William de Mandeville inherited the estates of his father Geoffrey de Mandeville, the Domesday tenant-in-chief, around 1100. He was C ...

following his elevation to Baron Marshwood in 1205 by

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

, and is first recorded as a built castle in 1215. The castle is no longer standing, but ruins remain and they are a scheduled monument.

Honour of Marshwood

The castle was the Head of the Honour and Barony of Mandeville of Marshwood (usually referred to as the Honour of Marshwood), which had extensive land holdings across the South West.

Remains

The remains of the castle are within the working Lodge House Farm, with barns and agricultural buildings encroaching on the earthworks. There remains the lower walls of a fortified house, which might date from the 1350s – 1360s. There are also various other remains around the site, including the former St Mary's Chapel, and various earthworks and buildings.

Designation

The remains of the castle are a

scheduled 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 ...

. The specific walls of the fortified house are listed at Grade II*. The castle appears on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

References

{{Reflist Scheduled monuments in Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset Castles in Dorset Hill forts in Dorset Structures on the Heritage at Risk register