Locking 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...

 that once stood on Carberry Hill near the site of RAF Locking

Raf locking

RAF Locking was a Royal Air Force base at Locking just outside Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England.Slightly north of the base is the site of Locking Castle a motte and bailey castle on Carberry Hill...

 in Locking in the North Somerset

North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....

 district of 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. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

.

It was a motte and bailey on Carberry Hill. Excavations in 1902 identified the remains of a small stone chamber surrounded by a ditch. Fragments of pottery and the remains of a sword were also found.

The origin of the castle is unclear. It may have been part of the manor of Kewstoke

Kewstoke

Kewstoke is a civil parish and village in Somerset, England, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, located next to the strip of coast called Sand Bay...

 or alternatively Hutton

Hutton, Somerset

Hutton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish, which has a population of 2,627, is within the Unitary Authority of North Somerset and located on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, close to Weston-super-Mare....

. The two manors were combined and given by Henry I

Henry I of England

Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...

 to Geoffrey de Dun. In 1214 Locking was given to Woodspring Priory

Woodspring Priory

Woodspring Priory is a former Augustinian priory beside the Severn Estuary about north-east of Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. It was founded in the early thirteenth century, and dedicated to Thomas Becket . After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was converted into a farmhouse...

and would have ceased to have military significance.