Rayleigh Castle
Rayleigh Castle in Essex is an early Norman motte-and-bailey castle whose great earthworks still dominate the hilltop town of Rayleigh, even though the timber and stone structures above them have long since vanished. Listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, these grassy mounds offer a surprisingly evocative encounter with the earliest years of Norman rule in England.
- Domesday-recorded Norman earthworks
- Dramatic motte dominating the hilltop
- One of Essex's earliest Norman castles
Best for Norman history enthusiasts and those intrigued by Domesday England.