Motte wall on ancient castle site to be restored

Bedford Castle's motte wall is in the centre of town adjacent to The Embankment

Work is about to begin to restore a historic mound where a castle once stood 800 years ago.

Missing stones will be replaced on the motte wall of the former Bedford Castle site, the mortar repointed and displaced stones will be re-set.

The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the work is being carried out by Corinthianstone, Bedford Borough Council said.

It will "preserve its historical significance", it added.

Signs are in place asking people to keep off the mound

Scheduled Monument Consent was granted in June and the work is expected to start on 31 March and be completed by 17 April, the council added.

It is not known when the popular historic site, by the banks of the town's Embankment, was built, but records show it was first documented in 1138.

Bedfordshire Archives said: "A ruthless Norman mercenary, Faulke de Breauté, a prominent vassal of King John (1199-1216) captured Bedford Castle in 1215."

Nine years later, on 20 June 1224, Henry III and his army besieged Bedford Castle.

It lasted eight weeks and around 200 people were thought to have died, records show.

Gradually the building fell and by 1361 the site was described as "a void plot of old enclosed by walls", the archives state.

Motte and bailey castles were medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans, Historic England said