Prideaux Castle - Castle

Castle

The word castle has long been employed colloquially to designate prehistoric remains of this general type throughout Great Britain. As examples of other hillforts called "castle" in the same vicinity, one may note Castle Dore at grid reference SX103548 or Castle an Dinas at grid reference SW9455062450, both within a few kilometers of Prideaux Castle.

It could also be observed that the word "castle" comes from the Latin word castella "little camp", from castrum "camp". Castella could also refer to a fortified village, although Prideaux is rather too small for this characterization.

On the 1888 survey map the Prideaux site is designated as "Camp". Nearby Castle Dore to the east and Castilly Henge to the west were both reoccupied and used as military encampments during the English Civil War in 1664.

At least one prehistoric British hillfort was rebuilt in later times with a Norman Motte-and-bailey style wooden castle, for example, Castle Neroche.

It has long been recognised that the motte and bailey, like quite a few others around the country, was deliberately sited so as to make the best use of earthworks surviving from an earlier period. But the nature, size and date of the earlier earthworks was not known. Our analysis of the surface remains strongly suggests that much of the defensive circuit originally belonged to a 'hillfort', built in the Iron Age, probably some time between 500 BC and 50 BC.

However, it must be stressed that there is currently no physical evidence that Prideaux Castle was ever rebuilt after its abandonment at the end of the Iron Age.