Ballands Castle was a castle near the village of
Penselwood
Penselwood or Pen Selwood is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It lies north east of Wincanton, south east of Bruton, west of Mere, and north west of Gillingham. The south-east of the parish borders Zeals and S ...
, Somerset, England.
History
Balland Castle was a
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
castle, probably built after the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
in 1066, near the village of Penselwood in Somerset.
[Creighton, p.62.] The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of
Cockroad Wood and
Castle Orchard
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
, and may have been built as part of a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area.
[
The motte of the castle is now around 5 m high, and up to 9 m wide.]
Balland's Castle, Penselwood
', Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.[Creighton, p.62; ]
Balland's Castle, Penselwood
', Somerset County Historic Environmental Record, accessed 18 July 2011.
Today the castle site is a scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
.
See also
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 105 ...
*List of castles in England
This list of castles in England is not a list of every building and site that has "castle" as part of its name, nor does it list only buildings that conform to a strict definition of a castle as a medieval fortified residence. It is not a list ...
Bibliography
*Creighton, Oliver Hamilton. (2005) ''Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England.'' London: Equinox. .
References
{{Authority control
Castles in Somerset
Former castles in England
Scheduled monuments in South Somerset
Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century