Watch Hill Castle (also known as Yarwood Castle, Castle Hill, and Bowdon Watch) is a medieval

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 ...

on the boundary of Bowdon and

Dunham Massey Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly t ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England. It is 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 castle is located north of the

River Bollin The River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey in the north-west of England. It rises in Macclesfield Forest at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream t ...

and south of a deep ravine ().Redhead (1997), p. 34.

History

Substantial dating evidence has not been recovered from the site, but the form of the castle as a timber motte-and-bailey would date it to between the Norman Conquest and the 13th century.Redhead (1997), p. 35. The lack of documentary evidence relating to the castle may be attributed to the short term nature of the timber construction; motte-and-baileys were quick to establish and would not necessarily have been used for long periods. A coin found on the site dating to the reign of Henry II, 1154 to 1189, may indicate that the castle was built during this period. The castle most likely belonged to Hamo de Mascy who was involved with the rebellion against Henry II in 1173. The castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century.

Later history and investigation

In the 19th century, W. T. Pownall found a penny from the reign of Henry II at the castle. In 1976 the North Cheshire Archaeology Group carried out excavations at the castle under the direction of Barry Johnson. The aims of the dig were to find dating evidence for the castle's foundation, and to establish whether it was a motte-and-bailey. While no dating evidence was recovered from the four trenches that were opened, hearths and potholes were discovered on top of the motte. The castle was designated a

in 1978. As the only scheduled monument in

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

it is arguably the most important archaeological site in the borough. Volunteers from

South Trafford Archaeological Group The South Trafford Archaeological Group (STAG) is an archaeological group based in Timperley, Greater Manchester. The group promotes interest in and the study of archaeology and history locally, especially within Trafford but also beyond the border ...

(STAG) and students from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

carried out a measured survey of the castle's

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

in 1997. STAG also conducted a geophysical survey in 2005 and established the position of the bailey's eastern ditch.

Layout

Bollin Valley Way at Watch Hill Castle, Cheshire - geograph-3418070

The remains of Watch Hill Castle consist of two parts: an artificial mound (a motte) and an enclosure (a bailey). The motte is tall, and is wide at the base and at the top. It is surrounded by a ditch wide and deep. The bailey covered a triangular area of approximately and lay to the east of the motte. It was enclosed by an earthen rampart which survives to a height of in some places, and would have been topped by a palisade. The north side of the bailey was doubly protected by the terrain sloping away steeply, and the south side was protected by the river.

Conservation

River Bollin near Castle Hill - geograph

Writing in the mid-1980s, archaeologists Keri Brown and Barry Johnson observed that the motte was overgrown with trees and a footpath was causing erosion of the motte.Brown & Johnson (1985), p.37 Watch Hill Castle's proximity to the River Bollin presents a conservation challenge. As the 21st century progresses, the river is more likely to flood as a result of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. This could erode the remains of the castle.

References

;Bibliography * *

External links