Cockroad Wood Castle was a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 near Wincanton

Wincanton

Wincanton is a small town in south Somerset, southwest England. The town lies on the A303 road, the main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry...

 but now in the parish of Charlton Musgrove

Charlton Musgrove

Charlton Musgrove is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 375...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England.

History

Cockroad Wood Castle was a motte and bailey castle, probably built after the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 in 1066. The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Ballands

Ballands Castle

-History:Balland Castle was a motte and bailey castle, probably built after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, near the village of Penselwood in Somerset...

 and Castle Orchard, and may have been built a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area. By 1086 the surrounding land was held by Walter of Douai

Walter of Douai

Walter of Douai was a Norman knight, probably at the Battle of Hastings, and a major landowner in South West England after the Norman Conquest. He is given various names and titles in different sources including: Walter de Douai. Douai is sometimes written as Dowai...

, although no documentary evidence of the castle remains.

The castle was build with a motte and two baileys, running along a north-south ridge, with a possible entrance to the east. The motte today is 13.5 wide, up to 7.5m high and is surrounded by a 1.25m deep ditch. The two baileys were probably linked to the motte by wooden bridges.

Today the castle site is a scheduled monument.