Knepp Castle

The name is thought to come from the Old English word cnæp, referring to the mound on which the castle stands. Knepp was a motte castle, probably founded by William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber, in the Rape of Bramber. His descendant, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, a favourite of King John and often accompanied the king early in his reign. In 1208 John confiscated William de Braose's land, including Knepp. While John's motivation is uncertain, he came to view William de Braose as a threat; in historian Sidney Painter's view the treatment of the Braose family was "the greatest mistake John made during his reign ... it made his cruelty known to all his barons", and contributed to…

The castle stands on an oval mound, modelled from a natural feature, surrounded by a ditch and ramparts. The ditch, fed from a nearby pond, formed a moat which still contained water at the beginning of the 18th century. The moat was crossed by a causeway which still survives, extending west from the castle. The causeway is part of the scheduled area. The above-ground remains of the castle consist of a single wall 11 metres high, 9.5 metres long, and 2.5 metres thick, with a doorway and another opening above it. This wall apparently formed the north end of the west wall of a tower or keep. The wall is faced with Horsham Stone, a type of sandstone found in the region. Thirteenth and…