Edmondsham to Cranborne Castle

Location

Last Visited: 2015 View Google Map, Geocoding, Google Earth pushpin, what3words, etc.

Nothing is known of the history of Cranborne Castle, a motte and bailey earthwork just south of the village.

Early Norman castles like this were originally timber structures. Most were subsequently rebuilt in stone once Norman rule had been firmly established.

Given that there is no sign of Cranborne having been rebuilt, it presumably fell out of use once the surrounding area had been subdued. It was probably abandoned at the beginning of the thirteenth century, when King John built a hunting lodge in the centre of the village where Cranborne Manor now stands.

The castle consists of a circular motte, some 180 ft (55 m) in diameter and 28 ft (8.5 m) high.

This is surrounded by a crescent-shaped bailey, which on its eastern side has a rampart that is up to 25 ft (7.6 m) high in places, together with an outer ditch. The bailey is protected by the steep sides of the hill on the other sides.

The Dorset Countryside Service, together with the Edmondsham Estate which owns the site, have undertaken extensive clearance work in recent years; just as well, as the castle was almost lost in the undergrowth until recently.

Up until the 1950s, the Village Pump would have been the village's main water supply.

It has a cast iron mechanism with a fly-wheel, and pump spout is set in a stone. It is dated 1884, and is inscribed 'HEM', a reference to Hector Edmond Monro, the then squire.

The pump house of four timber posts and a pyramidal tiled roof, was built in 1931. It was designed by HEM's grandson, Anthony Medlycott FRIBA.