Has Castle Hill ever been the scene of a battle?
The question for #AskExaminer has been posed by a reader who recalls reading about the hill being used a settlement in the Bronze Age, a hillfort in the Iron Age and a castle in the 12th century.
It is possible the once heavily-fortified hill witnessed violence towards the end of the 4th century BC when the fort’s ramparts were destroyed by a fire which may have been the work of an enemy force.
There is a legend that a battle was fought at Castle Hill but the exact location and date are not known.
According to Andrew Jenkin, author of The Legends & History of Castle Hill, the story suggests a great battle took place near a farm known as Catterston Croft.
“There is an area still known as ‘Catterstone’ on the west slopes below the hillfort,” says Andrew.
“The word ‘catter’ may mean ‘settlement on a slope’, or may derive from the Celtic word ‘cat’ meaning ‘fight.’”
In medieval times, a Norman motte and bailey castle was built on the hill in the 1130s. It was a dark period in which violent deeds may have been carried out in the castle.
During this era the local de Laci family fell out with the king as they refused to allow the King’s Bailiff to inspect their properties.
A Victorian historian wrote that the de Lacis took men with property and “tortured them with unutterable tortures..they hanged them up by the feet...by the thumbs or by the head...and put them in dungeons in which were adders and snakes and toads.”
Andrew, who grew up in Honley and now lives in Wales, says a jury was established in 1307 to investigate sinister goings-on including a body which was left rotting in one of the castle’s moats.
The jury recorded that “a certain stranger had been murdered in the dungeons and his body thrown outside, that his body when discovered was a complete mass of corruption as if it had been devoured by worms, birds and dogs.”
In 1471, a battle of sorts took place in the shadow of Castle Hill. The ‘Battle of Bower’ at Hall Bower happened a year after Edward IV had been overthrown by Lancastrian rebels.
It was essentially a skirmish between the Kayes of Woodsome and the Beaumonts of Newsome. What took place may have been exaggerated over the years.
“Both families were resident Yorkshiremen, but no doubt one of the significant things at that time was that John Kaye’s side were joined by a Lancastrian, Lawrence Overall.”
Nicholas Beaumont, his son John and another man were killed and another seriously hurt. The only punishments handed out were fines; the wives of Nicholas and John were paid £44 in compensation.
Andrew’s website is www.arjentdesign.co.uk
