Cuckney Castle was in the village of

Cuckney St Mary’s Church Norton/Cuckney, thumb Cuckney is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Norton, Cuckney, Holbeck and Welbeck, in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, located between Worksop and Church Wa ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

between

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...

and

Market Warsop Market Warsop is a town within the civil parish of Warsop in Mansfield District, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): The adjacent villages in the parish ...

(). It 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 ...

fortress founded by Thomas de Cuckney. It was razed after

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

in the reign of King Stephen. There are now the low remains of a motte, partly enclosed by a wide ditch and to the west the faint remnants of a bailey. These remains can be found at the edge of the churchyard of

St Mary's Church, Norton Cuckney St Mary's Church, Norton Cuckney is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Cuckney. At the edge of the churchyard are the remains of Cuckney Castle, a motte and bailey castle listed as a Scheduled Monument by the Department ...

. Cuckney motte and bailey castle is listed as 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 ...

by the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...

. In the 1950s, a mass grave of approximately 200 human remains was found in a trench near the churchyard, leading to speculation regarding a battle near the site.

References

* Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.

External links

Castles in Nottinghamshire Motte-and-bailey castles Bassetlaw District {{England-castle-stub

See also

References

External links