Monument record 0060700000 - CASTLE HILL HOUSE

Dimensions - Height 9m, Radius 20m.
Plan Form - Crescentic.
Possibly part of earthwork of class E type (mount with 1 or more attached courts)(B3).
Form suggests it may have been partly destroyed (B5).
Suggestion of ditch on N & indications of bailey ditch on E. Derelict summerhouse on summit (B6).
Charter of Stephen may refer to this site (B7).
Watching brief carried out by Mike Farley in ?May 1998 failed to identify any medieval material. The only finds were 18th century pottery, tile and clay pipe fragments (B15).
Watching briefs carried out between December 1994 and August 1996 by BCMAS during demolition and rebuilding works failed to find any evidence for a ditch surrounding the motte, although a number of other features were recorded. It is suggested that the mound originated from landscaping associated with the construction of Castle Hill House and has been misinterpreted as a motte (see discussion) (B16, B18).
Watching brief carried out by TVAS in May 2003 to the north of the mound failed to identify any associated features or finds (B17).
Watching brief by TVAS in July 2004 during replacement of steps onto the mound identified post-medieval finds (including 17th century pottery) and make-up layers (B20).


[SU 8671 9323] CASTLE MOUND [GT] (Remains of). (B23)

Mount, in the garden of Castle Hill House, on the slope of a hill overlooking the town, about 350' OD. The work in its present state consists only of the mount which appears from its unusual form (a crescent) to have been partly destroyed. It is 30' high and 128' in diam, at its base. The summit is 17' in diameter. Condition - Imperfect (B24)

Noted as a possible motte but shown on the plan as a barrow (B3).

In an ancient Heralds Book in the Bodleian Library is contained a return of all the Royal Castles in England which includes Wycombe. The castle was apparently an appurtenance of the Manor of Temple Wycombe and held by Robert de Vipont at lord of the manor in the reign of King John. (B2)

The remains of the motte, as described by the RCHM, are situated upon steep southerly slopes commanding the Wye valley to S.E. and N.W. and a side valley to the N. The motte has been isolated from the higher ground to the N. by a ditch, of which only traces remain.

It is tree-covered, has been partly remodelled and incorporated into ornamental gardens, has a 19th c. folly on the top, and is in poor condition (B25).

MOTTE [NR] (B26).

Castle Hill House SU 867933. A possible ringwork castle (B27).

There is little evidence to indicate a ringwork, though it is possible that the sunken rectangular lawn bounded by a bank 1.0m high, being a garden feature of Castle Hill House to the south of the motte could have been classified incorrectly as a ringwork. The motte is as described by the Royal Commission. (B28)

Listed by Cathcart King. Possibly extant in 1138 when besieged by King Stephen (B29).

NRHE Insert 1999, Update 2001, 2003, 2002, 2011 (B30).