Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2980 Mouselow Castle, Derbyshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Derbyshire 6115 (None)

NMR:  SK 09 NW 3 (306343)

SM:  1011431

NGR:  SK 0279 9549

X:  402792  Y:  395491  (OSGB36)

Summary

On the summit of Castle Hill at 270m OD, the remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle believed to be on the site of an Iron Age multivallate hillfort. Traces of double and triple ramparts were recorded in VCH (Cox 1905). Excavations in 1963-4 by pupils of Glossop Grammar School uncovered a ditch. Their trench was extended in 1984 and 1985 and a ditch 2.3m deep excavated (Reeve 1985, 1986). A worked flint was found in a roothole in the W of the trench but no dating evidence was found. Circular crop-marks have been recorded on the eastern face of Castlehill which are possibly barrows or hut circles. The site is scheduled as an early medieval ringwork. It is not recorded on OS mapping.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -218122  Y:  7067824  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.9594257128346368  Latitude:  53.45615691983377  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Derbyshire

Historic County:  Derbyshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Glossop

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Lies in a clearing in what appears to be regenerating woodland. Shown as woodland on 1937-61 OS mapping,

Current Use:
Woodland   ✗
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✗
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✗
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✓

Landscape

Hillfort Type

A suggested hillfort on the summit of Castle Hill at 270m OD.

Type:
Contour Fort   ✓
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✗
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✗
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✓
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✗
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✗
Spur   ✗

Dominant Topographic Feature:  Hill top

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  270.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Undated

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Excavated in 1963-4 and 1984-5 by pupils of Glossop Grammar School. Field investigation in 1965. Scheduled.

Investigations:
Other (1965):   Field investigation
Other (1994):   Scheduled
Excavation (None):   None
Excavation (None):   None

Interior Features

No internal features are recorded. Single worked flint, undated

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✓

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✗
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✓
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✓
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

The location of entrances is unknown

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Traces of double and triple ramparts were recorded in VCH (Cox 1905)

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Unknown

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   None

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✓
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

Ditch excavated

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   Ditch discovered during excavation

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Cox, J .C. 1905, Ancient Earthworks. in The Victoria County History of Derbyshire, Vol I

Reeve, G. 1985. Mouselow Castle: an interim report 1984/85. Unpublished

Reeve, G. 1986. Mouselow Castle: Second Interim Report 1985/86. Unpublished



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


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