Ballands Castle

Ballands Castle stands on a low hill near Penselwood in Somerset. It was built after the Norman Conquest of 1066 as a motte and bailey castle to control the area. The motte rises about five metres and is nine metres wide at the top. A ditch surrounds the motte and another ditch encloses the bailey to the south. The castle formed part of a network of Norman fortifications including Cockroad Wood and Castle Orchard. The site is now protected as a scheduled monument. Its earthworks show how the Normans organised defence and settlement in the 11th century. The motte would have supported a wooden tower while the bailey held stables and workshops. Archaeologists recognise these features as typical of early post-Conquest castles. Visitors walk over grassy mounds and along the remains of the ditches. The views stretch across rolling Somerset countryside. The castle’s earthworks are quiet today, but they still reveal the power once held here. The site is open to the public and offers a clear picture of medieval fortification without modern distractions.