Powerstock Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Powerstock Castle (also recorded as Poorstock, and known locally as Athelstan's Castle) is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle of which only earthworks survive. It crowns Castle Hill in west Dorset and overlooks the confluence of the Mangerton valley and one of its main tributaries. The almost oval motte (about 45 m by 42 m) rises some 6 m above a semicircular ditch; on the north side it is protected instead by the very steep natural slope. A kidney-shaped inner bailey to the south and east is enclosed by a bank up to 4.5 m high. A cross rampart divides it from an outer enclosure to the west, bounded by a rock-cut ditch. The whole site occupies a promontory of roughly 3.6 ha. The caput of the Newburgh barony, the estate passed to King John in 1205. He had "King's houses" built there, probably in the bailey, and stayed several times. Henry III visited in 1230, and the manor returned to private hands under Edward I. Stone quarrying for a nearby lime kiln has badly damaged the motte and the bailey interior, and no trace of any building can be seen today. The grass-covered site has been a Scheduled Monument since 1924.