Upper Slaughter castle mound

In the middle of Upper Slaughter, on a low hill inside a bend of the River Eye, is the motte of a Norman motte and bailey castle, just below St Peter's church. It is small and grassed over, but it explains the shape of the village, and Historic England has scheduled it as a monument since 1948.

History

The mound was raised for a small castle, probably in the twelfth century, and the Victoria County History says it was used only for a short time. Partial digging in 1877 found a well and the footings of a building on top of the motte, and pottery of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the ditch. The Victoria County History notes that the top seven feet (about 2m) of the mound is made-up soil, and suggests the castle was built for local defence rather than as a lord's seat; it doubts a link with the king's serjeant recorded at Slaughter in 1190 and 1239, who probably belonged to the royal manor at Lower Slaughter.

The church next door was caught up in the fighting of the twelfth century: its listing records that in the civil war the Abbot of Gloucester complained that St Peter's had been used for defence, and the Victoria County History dates an attack on it, in the civil war of Stephen's reign, to about 1145. Neither the scheduling nor the Victoria County History names the castle's builder.

What to look for

The scheduling describes what survives:

• A circular, flat-topped mound up to 22m across and 2.7m high
• A ditch round it, now partly filled, which excavation showed to be up to 8m wide and 4m deep
• To the north and west, a scarp about 90m long with a flat platform above the river: the bailey, where the castle's yard and buildings stood

Stand by the church and look down: the Victoria County History reads the whole village from here, the castle mound on the bend of the stream, the church above it and the houses on the shoulder of the hill.

Visiting

The mound is seen from the lanes and paths through the village and from near the church. We have not confirmed a public path onto the mound itself, so treat it as a monument to look at. Winter and early spring, when the grass is short and the trees bare, show the shape of the motte and ditch best.

Getting there

Upper Slaughter is reached by lanes about a mile upstream of Lower Slaughter, north-west of Bourton-on-the-Water. There is no public car park and no public toilets in the village; walkers usually park in Lower Slaughter and come up the Wardens' Way. No timed bus calls, but the Robin, a minibus you book ahead, serves the village. The walk from Lower Slaughter, the Bourton, Upper and Lower Slaughter walk and the Bourton, the Slaughters and Naunton walk all pass within about 60m.

Nearby

St Peter's Church stands just above it and is open every day, and the Manor House is a short way south. Lords of the Manor, the Witts family's house of about 1649, has been the village's hotel since 1972. Downstream in Lower Slaughter are the Old Mill, St Mary's Church and the Slaughters Country Inn.