Summary

Castle of Montacute was mentioned in 1102, a Norman Castle constructed in 1068, motte and bailey type. Nothing is known of the castle's history after 1102, when it was given to the Cluniac Priory.

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Description

The earliest known structure on the summit of St. Michael's Hill is the castle built after the Norman Conquest by Robert, Count of Mortain, which was in existence by 1086. There are some indications that the hill may have been occupied before the Norman Conquest ( Aston & Leech 1977, 104; Toulmin Smith 1964, 157-8), but there is no definite evidence of buildings pre- dating the castle. Together with Dunster, the castle is one of only two Somerset castles mentioned in the Domesday Book ( Aston 1982, 123). It is thought that the castle may have been built of stone, but this would be very unusual for such an early castle.
A manuscript from Waltham Abbey records the legend of the finding of a miraculous cross buried on top of St. Michael's Hill, which Tovi, a local lord, took to Waltham, Essex ( Dean 1975). A church was built to house the cross, the foundations of which have been recently traced ( Huggins 1989, 140), and gave rise to Waltham Abbey. The cross continued to work miracles, although it failed to prevent the Normans winning the Battle of Hastings, where apparently "holy cross" was invoked as a battle cry. It is thought that the siting of the Norman Castle at Montacute on the findspot of the cross may have been a deliberate insult to the defeated English ( V.C.H. 1974, 212). The castle was besieged briefly in 1086, during an English revolt ( V.C.H. 1911, 180), the records of which give the first firm evidence of buildings on the summit of the hill, but presumably the castle quickly lost its strategic importance because it was given to the nearby Montacute Priory in c. 1102.' ( L. Adkins & R. Adkins 1989, p.125).

There are no longer any extant masonry remains of Montacute Castle. The base of the motte is accompanied by a bank on the N. and W. sides. On the S. and E. a wide berm separates the motte from the natural slopes.

The earthworks were surveyed by English Heritage in April 2000 and a report published.

St Michael’s Hill is an isolated natural knoll which has been artificially sculpted to create impressive earthworks. A substantial conical motte was formed on the upper part of the hill. It is flanked on the western side by a strong bank and ditch. It is almost completely enclosed by a broad terrace at its base, about halfway up the knoll. The origin and function of this terrace are unclear but it may have been created to form an annular bailey. There is a substantial horseshoe-shaped bailey on the southeastern side of the knoll with a deep outer ditch and a partial inner bank, which cut across the line of the broad terrace. Unusually very little of the interior of the bailey is level. It is crossed by four narrow terraces along the slopes (118275). The earthworks were surveyed by English Heritage in April 2000 and a report published (Fletcher 2000).[sna62827]

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