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When a castle's not a castle

Watch the fascinating history of the motte at St. John the Baptist on Chapel Hill in Arkholme...

When you think of a castle it’s probably the more traditional type that springs to mind, with dungeons and a drawbridge, but in Arkholme, in the far North of the county, the castle or motte, looks more like a mound of overgrown soil.

It stands in the grounds of St. John the Baptist on Chapel Hill, which slopes steeply down to the River Lune.

The motte measures some 30m in diameter at its base and is 14m wide at the top. Evidence from excavation suggests that the motte consisted of two distinct layers and that at some point it has been raised 2.75m since its initial erection.

Dr. Andrew White from Lancaster University sheds some light on the matter…

Watch: Dr. Andrew White from Lancaster University >

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last updated: 10/10/07

Have Your Say

Ruth from Leyland
As a Lancastrian I am really interested in the heritage of the county - particularly when as in this case it is related to pre-history. Books always seem to imply that very little went on in Lancashire until the Industrial Revolution - so it's great to hear about sites that clearly refute this view. More of the same please!

Marjorie Cordingley
I was very interested in the story about the 'castle' in the grounds of St John the Baptist, Arkholme. I would be interested to know how you know that this mound was a castle and not a burial site or anything else.

C. Stanley.
An informative short piece of local history. I will be going out to look at the castle in the near future thanks to this piece.It would be good to see a list of the other sites in the Lune Valley.

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