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Fenny Castle is the remains of a motte and bailey castle in the parish of Wookey, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.〔 It is sited on a natural hillock of Lias approximately above the surrounding flat land on the edge of the Somerset Levels. Such sites were typically chosen for castles in low-lying areas.〔O. H. Creighton, ''Castles and landscapes: power, community and fortification in Medieval England'' (2002), p. 38: "In low-lying marshy areas a castle was very often raised on a natural eminence, typically a glacial knoll, as at Fenny Castle, Wells (Somerset)..."〕 The original builder of the castle is unknown, but it may be associated with the Anarchy, a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen which was marked by a succession crisis between the supporters of Stephen and those of his cousin, the Empress Matilda. In 1327 the owner was William atte Castle.〔 By 1480 it was described as a ruin by William Worcestre who saw the plan of "all the houses and offices there". During the 19th century the quarrymen found twenty skeletons which were reported as dating from an unspecified period before the construction of the castle. The Castle gave its name to a hamlet of the parish of Wookey named 'Castle', one mile south-west of the main village. A stone cross in the hamlet, marking its importance, was still to be seen in 1839.〔William Phelps, ''The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire'', part 1, 'The parochial history continued, ''viz.'' The city and cathedral of Wells; the hundreds of Wells Forum and Whitstone' (1839), (p. 172 )〕 Little remains of the stonework, and there is evidence of extensive quarrying. The mound is now covered in grass and scrub with a few trees.〔 However, the site was described in ''The Archaeology of Somerset'' (1982) as still having "interesting and prominent earthworks".〔Michael Aston, Ian Burrow, ''The Archaeology of Somerset: a review to 1500 AD'' (1982), pp. 9-12〕 ==See also== *Castles in Great Britain and Ireland *List of castles in England 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fenny Castle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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