England · Partial ruin

Wakefield Castle

Wakefield Castle (Lowe Hill, Lawe Hill) is the earthwork remains of a 12th‑century motte-and-bailey castle on a raised mound north of the River Calder in Thornes Park, Wakefield. Today the site survives as a grass‑covered motte with two baileys and traces of a surrounding ditch.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1140

Today

Partial ruin

As it stood in 1140

What Wakefield Castle looked like in its prime.

A conical earthen motte about nine metres high and roughly 25 metres across stands on a small wooded hill, its summit flattened into a circular platform. The motte is enclosed by an inner bailey forming a rough square around forty metres across and a smaller outer bailey to the north‑east; banks and counterscarps of packed earth define the enclosures while the surrounding defensive ditch has been filled in. The site sits above flat, formerly marshy ground and is ringed by trees.

Its story

The story of Wakefield Castle.

Wakefield Castle — Lowe Hill or Lawe Hill, from the Anglo-Saxon hlaew, a mound or cairn — was probably begun by William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey, during the Anarchy, the civil war between Stephen and Matilda. The mound a quarter mile north of the River Calder, separated from the town by flat swampy land, made a good site for an earthwork motte and bailey.

In 1318 Wakefield Castle and neighbouring Sandal Castle were granted to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and in 1324 King Edward II committed them to the care of Richard Moseley. The grass-covered motte with its two baileys and traces of ditch survives in Thornes Park; English Heritage granted permission for a geophysical and topographical survey of the site in 2015–16.

Step inside

10 places to explore in 1140.

The record describes 10 distinct spots at Wakefield Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Approach from Thornes Park (base of hill)Base of the motteSummit of the motte (platform)Inner bailey enclosureOuter bailey (north‑east)Filled ditch line and counterscarpVantage toward the River CalderSite of later archaeological excavation (on motte/bailey)Tree‑lined scarp and slopesSummit spot later used for beacon

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