Abinger Castle

Abinger Castle stands on a low mound in Abinger Common, between Guildford and Dorking in Surrey. It is a small earthwork motte and bailey, once topped with a wooden fortress. The site was founded around 1100 by William Fitz-Ansculf and rebuilt in wood in 1140. Most castles of this type lasted only a few decades, but Abinger Castle survived until 1153. A motte is a raised earthwork, and a bailey is the enclosed courtyard below. The castle’s brief but significant life is tied to local history. William fitz Ansculf also held the land recorded in the Domesday Book. Nearby, Abinger Manor was rebuilt in 1688 by John Evelyn and again in the 19th century by Alfred Waterhouse. St James’ Church, east of the motte, dates from the 12th century, with parts rebuilt around 1220. The church was bombed in the Second World War and restored in 1950 by Frederick Etchells. Visitors find the remains of the motte and bailey still visible. Excavations by Brian Hope-Taylor in the late 1940s uncovered postholes of a wooden tower and traces of a bridge and palisade. A Mesolithic pit-dwelling lies near the motte, one of Britain’s oldest known dwelling sites. The church and manor house add to the quiet, rural setting of Abinger Common.