GATEHOUSE
The comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Islands.
 
 
Home
The listings
Other Info
Books
Links
Downloads
Contact
 
Print Page 
 
Next Record 
Previous Record 
Back to list 

Torksey Motte

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Windmill Hill; Torkesey Wynde Mille Hille

In the civil parish of Torksey.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire.
Modern Authority of Lincolnshire.
1974 county of Lincolnshire.
Medieval County of Lincolnshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SK837786
Latitude 53.29821° Longitude -0.74514°

Torksey Motte has been described as a probable Timber Castle.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The olde buildinges of Torkesey wer on the south of the new toune, but there now is litle scene of olde buildinges, more then a chapelle, wher men say was the paroch chirch of old Torkesey, and on Trent side the yerth so balkith up that it shewith that there be likelihod hath beene sum waulle, and by it is a hille of yerth cast up : they caulle it the Wynde Mille Hille, but I thinke the dungeon of sum olde castelle was there. (Leland)

Excavations showed that the scarp towards the Trent, which Leland had taken to be the remains of defences, is entirely natural, formed by the river cutting eastwards into the Keuper Marl. The pre-conquest borough may well have been an open settlement, consisting primarily of a string of wharves and warehouses extending some miles up the Foss Dyke towards Lincoln. (Med. Arch. 1962-3)

A one metre by one metre test pit was excavated in July 2011 by the University of Sheffield at 4 Sand Lane, Torksey 54207a. Medieval pottery, a copper alloy belt fitting and fragments of possibly medieval glass and tile were found. The glass and tile suggests that a high status building may have existed nearby. (Lincolnshire HER 54207)
Comments

Rejected by King who writes "Mentioned by Leland, in terms suggesting a motte, is nothing of the kind, while late Tudor building, now called Torksey Castle, is quite unfortified." However, since Torksey became a new port in 1121, and also seems to have had a monastic foundation in C12, a castle would not be an improbable addition to what was a high status potential development. Leland writes the mound was called Windmill Hill, but that he thought it was the site of an old castle. Modern flood defences and intense agriculture have also much altered the landscape, and earlier flooding from the Trent may well have obliterated any ditches. Despite the apparent amount of open land flood safe land near the river is very limited and the site may well have been built over by later development including the later castle which is less than 200m from Sand Lane.
An excavation, directed by M.W. Barley, in 1960/61, showed a scarp, which they said was the defences identified by Leland, to be natural. However, Leland's account does not allow for a specific modern site to be so identified (Did Barley assume modern Castlebank was Lelands Wynde Mille Hille?). The possibility of a high status site south of the modern village, associated with the medieval town remains high although its form is unclear.
Site lost, given map reference for the junction of Sand Lane with the A156 close to the test pit finds of stained glass and tile. The site of the medieval town south of this site is scheduled monument 1004991, which, despite this legal protection, is on the Heritage at Risk Register.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
    County HER            
Maps >
Streetmap   NLS maps   Where's the path   Old-Maps      
Data/Maps > 
Magic   V. O. B.   Geology   LiDAR   Open Domesday  
Air Photos > 
Bing Maps   Google Maps   Getmapping   ZoomEarth      
Photos >
CastleFacts   Geograph   Flickr   Panoramio      

Sources of information, references and further reading
Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.
It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from ANY site without proper recording and reporting.
Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of Historic England, County Historic Environment Records and other individuals and organisations. It may also contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes.
The author and compiler of Gatehouse does not receive any income from the site and funds it himself. The information within this site is provided freely for educational purposes only.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.
Please help to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting Gatehouse if you see errors, can add information or have suggestions for improvements in functality and design.
Help is acknowledged.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:02

Home | Books | Links | Fortifications and Castles | Other Information | Help | Downloads | Author Information | Contact
¤¤¤¤¤