Fremington Castle and Dyke
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The dyke and 'castle' at Fremington are yet another intriguing aspect of the Bettle of Reeth, the dyke is in alignment with the Grinton Dykes and presumably played a part in the defence of Maiden Castle and the settled area of Reeth. The 'castle' is a folly, shown in the 1850's OS map as a circular enclosure. There is some evidence however, that the castle sits on an earlier ditched enclosure, possibly also linked with the battle.
To the south of Grinton, Shown on this 1850's OS map, is a stretch of dyke running straight through Fremington and close by what appears to be an oval enclosure.
Fremington Dyke
The northern (left) and southern parts of the Fremingtom Dyke, close to Fremington.
The Dyke at Grinton seems to be an extension of that running past Grinton, it defends against attack from the east, its ramparts are still very visible, and comparable with other ramparts assigned as Iron Age, the ditch is still some 2-3m in depth and the rampart up to 8m from bottom of the ditch. Along with the other Dykes in this area these ramparts seem to serve as part of the defence of the settled area of Reeth to Maiden Castle. As with most of the earthworks of Reeth, currently dating evidence is not available.
Height of outer bank of Fremington Dyke.
Fremington Castle
The enclosure noted on the 1850's map has
been turned into a folly, removing much evidence of what if anything was here
before.
The enclosure marked on the 1850's map is a large folly, now Castle Manor B&B - The ideal place to stay in the area. The folly seems to be built on an earlier enclosure, although its proximity to the ramparts (almost completely butted up against the outside of of there zone of protection) detracts from the thuoght that the two are linked. Also the interior of the 'Castle' for the large part slopes severely and could not have served as a permanant dwelling.
Fremington Castle 'ditch' and wall.
Ringing the castle, is a road which can be seen to be below the natural level of the land by about 1.2m, this probably man made feature I assume pre-dates the folly and was probably what made this otherwise inconvenient location ideal for the erection of a 'castle'. In places the castle wall seems to bulge as if retaining a greater height of earth however this has not been proven. Given the sites proximity to the earthworks and its apparent earlier outer ditch this site seems worthy of further investigation, perhaps with the aid of a folly expert.
"On Harker Hill, opposite Healaugh, are the remains of an ancient encampment, called Maiden Castle; and from this a line of entrenchments may be traced across the valley to Fremington, where ornaments of brass, inlaid with silver, and a Roman coin, have been found." Bulmers Directory 1890.
© Brigantes Nation 2002