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Cass ny Hawin

In the parish of Santon.
On the Isle of Man.

OS Map Grid Reference: SC29736949
Latitude 54.09090° Longitude -4.60424°

Cass ny Hawin has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such.

There are earthwork remains.
Description

On both sides of Santon River at Cass ny Hawin lies one promontory fort (damaged by erosion) with a ditch across the neck and surrounded by an earthen bank. Viking or post Viking by analogy with an excavated site {The analogy probably applies to the pre-Viking fort excavated 1955 at Poyll Vaaish which cancels Bersu's excavation as dating value} (Bersu; Kermode).
Topographically, by its size and construction, this fort is similar to the 1-800 AD (poss 5-6th C) Promontory fort at (SC 26 NW 1). It utilizes an almost vertical drop in the north and west and is surrounded by a periphery bank with a max internal height of 1.7m. Another ditch on the landward side is almost ploughed out and the remaining portion has a max width of 5.0m. The max depth from the outer lip is 1.1m with the drop from the top of the periphery bank 2.5m. The bank has several probably modern breaks on the landward side but no original entrance could be detected. The fort is grass covered and no trace of internal habitations was found (F1 DE 07.12.55). (PastScape)

very small promontory fort on coastal headland, capable of containing only a single dwelling, and thus coming within the normal definition of a castle, though their original data is Iron Age. reoccupied in the Viking period or even later (dates are uncertain) to form homesteads at least partly fortified (King 1983)

Comments (by Philip Davis)

Called a 'possible' castle by King (1983) although he tended to use this term for sites for which he had significant doubts.
Nothing in the landscape suggests high status medieval use of the site.
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This record last updated on Tuesday, April 18, 2017
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