Court Castle

The survey of Court Castle (National Monuments Record SS 60 NW 2), a medieval earthwork castle modified by later ornamental landscaping, was carried out by the Exeter Office of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) at a scale of 1:1000 during May 1992.

Court Castle is one of a pair of earthwork castles at Winklelgh.  Court Castle consists of a substantial flat-topped ovoid mound with a sub-rectangular hummock at its north-eastern corner.  A well-preserved ditch lies at the foot of the mound on the north and west while the centre of the mound Is occupied by a ruinous 18th century banqueting house.  Beyond It, on the east, is Winkleigh Court where garden earthworks are visible south and east of the house.  Two dwellings, Castle House and Castle Cottage, are situated at the foot of the mound at the south-western corner where the ditch appears to have been cut, at least partially, away.  The small triangular plot immediately north of the castle mound was occupied by an airmans mess during World War II; all that survives Is a brick built water tower just outside the castle ditch.

The site is situated in a small beech and yew plantation at the north-eastern end of Wlnkleigh village on an ‘island’ between the old and new routes of the B3220 road. Court Castle used to lie within the grounds of Winkleigh Court but was separated from the house during World War II when the B3220 was rerouted to its present line in order to facilitate access to an airfield north of the village.  The castle mound lies at 168m above OD on the southern edge of a low ridge.

Cherry & Pevsner: The Buildings of England – Devon, 1989: 912-3
Probert and Dunn: Court Castle a new survey by RCHM, 1993