Haughley Fort
Suffolk, England
A part of the moat of Haughley Fort
Haughley Fort
Coordinates	52.2226°N 0.9633°E
Grid reference	grid reference TM025624
Kind	Motte and bailey
Web site historical past
Occasions	Revolt of 1173-4

Haughley Fort was a medieval castle located within the village of Haughley, some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of the city of Stowmarket, Suffolk. Distinguished historians equivalent to J. Wall think about it “essentially the most excellent earthwork of this kind within the county,” while R. Allen Brown has described it as “one of the vital essential” fortress websites in East Anglia.^[1]

Particulars[edit]

Haughley Fort was constructed within the late Eleventh century by Hugh de Montfort.^[2] The fortress had a motte and bailey design, with a really massive motte, 210 toes (64 m) extensive on the base and 80 toes (24 m) tall.^[3] D. J. Cathcart King in his abstract of mottes in England and Wales questioned this measurement, and instructed that the motte was in all probability nearer to 40 toes (12 m) in top.^[4] The bailey is rectangular, 390 toes (120 m) by 300 toes (91 m) throughout, with the doorway on the west facet.^[3] Each the motte and the bailey had been protected by a deep ditch, fed from a diverted stream from the west to provide a moist moat.^[3] Earlier investigations instructed {that a} stone shell keep had been constructed on the motte, however the foundations of this, if right, can not be seen.^[5] An additional bailey might have initially surrounded the surviving earthworks, enclosing the native church as nicely.^[6] The scale and scale of the fortress has led J. Wall to explain Haughley as “essentially the most excellent earthwork of this kind within the county,” while historian R. Allen Brown considers it “one of the vital essential” fortress websites in East Anglia.^[1]

The fortress fashioned the caput, or important fortress, on the centre of the Honour of Haughley.^[2] The honour was typically often called the “honour of the constable”, as a result of the proprietor was obligated to supply castle-guard troopers and knights to the constable of Dover Castle.^[7] Hugh de Montfort turned a monk in 1088 and the fortress handed via his household till the mid-Eleventh century.^[7] In direction of the tip of King Stephen‘s reign the fortress was given by the king to Henry of Essex, certainly one of his supporters.^[7]

By the late twelfth century the Bigod family had come to dominate Suffolk, who held the title of the Earl of Norfolk and who had been in competitors with the Crown for management of the area.^[8] Henry II had taken the throne after the demise of Stephen and Henry d’Essex misplaced favour after being accused and convicted of cowardice in the course of the 1157 Welsh marketing campaign – Haughley Fort was seized by Henry II in 1163, and by the mid-1170s, the fortress was managed on his behalf by Ralph de Broc and a garrison of 30 troopers. Battle broke out once more in 1173, in the course of the revolt of Henry’s sons and the Bigod’s ally Robert de Beaumont, the Earl of Leicester, landed on the East Anglian coast and marched west, putting the fortress below siege.^[9] Ralph surrendered the fortress, which was then smoked out by Robert’s forces, though the revolt subsequently failed. The fortress was absolutely rebuilt after its destruction in 1173 and a Manor Home was constructed inside the Inside Bailey and the Outer Bailey regularly stuffed. The remaining components of the preserve tower nonetheless standing had been eliminated by Richard Ray in 1760. The round foundations of over eight toes in thickness are seen in the present day.^[10] A significant excavation in 2011 cleared the location and revealed in depth foundations and lots of remnants of intricately carved and dressed stone.