En un regard
Le château en bref
Meppershall Castle, known locally as “The Hills”, is a motte-and-bailey castle with two baileys in the parish of Meppershall, in Central Bedfordshire. It was the caput, or chief seat, of the Meppershall family, a local family who held the manor directly from the king and occasionally served the Crown in minor positions.
The motte, about 25 to 30 m in diameter, rises nearly 5 m above the bottom of its ditch and carried a timber tower. Two baileys extend to the north-east. The first, kidney-shaped and about 50 m long, occupies an island formed by an extension of the motte ditch. The second, larger and roughly triangular, is bordered by a bank on its north-east side. Its low height allowed the whole area to be watched from the top of the motte, with no blind spots. A leat fed water into the ditches. An outer entrenchment of about 12 hectares, probably contemporary, has also been identified.
The castle is attributed to the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154). A charter of this king in favour of St Radegund's Priory is dated “apud Maperteshalam in obsidione”, that is, during a siege. The year 1138, at the time of the siege of Bedford, has been suggested, but some historians place it after 1147, and it is unclear whether Meppershall was besieged or served as a base. Protected since 1929, the site is very well preserved and almost undisturbed.
