Mere Castle

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the remains of Mere Castle, an enclosure castle, the mound of which was formed by alteration of the eastern end of a chalk ridge known as Long Hill. The top of this part of the hill was levelled to create a building platform and a deep ditch, approximately 5m deep, was dug to separate the castle from the western part of the ridge. The ditch includes a 2m wide causeway linking the castle to the western part of the ridge. In addition, the ditch, which in part forms a natural amphitheatre known as the Bull Ring, has a broad bank on its western side. A further ditch, 1.5m deep, is located on the eastern slope of the hill. Although the castle now survives as an earthwork, limited excavations carried out in 1887 by T H Baker and the Rev E G Wyld revealed a rectangular structure approximately 118m by 31m on the summit of the hill, which had two circular towers on each side and rectangular corner towers. Mere Castle was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in 1253. It originally included six towers, a hall, inner and outer gates, a well and a chapel. It was repaired in 1300 after which it fell into decay and was finally demolished between 1780 and 1790, the materials from the castle being sold for building purposes. Fragmentary terraces on the lower slopes of the hill below the castle on its eastern side are of uncertain date and function and are not included in the scheduling. All fence posts, benches, the flag pole, war memorial, steps and plinths supporting information panels are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.