The forgotten castle on the outskirts of Hull

Neil Chadwick, librarian and archivist at Hull History Centre, says the Bransholme location was a "perfect place to build a castle"

What is now a series of lumps and bumps on an overgrown hillside on the outskirts of Hull was once the location of a bustling castle estate.

In the 12th Century, sandwiched between the villages of Sutton and Swine, Bransholme Castle sat on a mound better known today as Castle Hill.

Described as a "hive of activity" in its heyday, it is thought the fortress was built during a succession crisis leading to a period known as The Anarchy.

But who built it and why exactly was it there?

In December 1135, King Henry I died. His nephew, Stephen of Blois, inherited the crown instead of the King's daughter, Empress Matlida.

This triggered a 20-year civil war known as The Anarchy.

There was an upsurge in castle building during this period. Royal authority had crumbled and anybody who could build a castle, did.

It is thought Sir John, Sayer of Sutton, built the fortress for protection while his son, William of Sutton, Earl of York, fought for King Stephen during the war.

Most castles during The Anarchy were built in unusual places due to most of the castle sites being taken after 1066.

An artist's imprfession of Bransholme Castle and its fortress, with wooden bridge, moat and thatched-roof houses

It is believed Sir John looked out from his property in the village in Sutton, saw Bransholme and thought it would be an ideal location to erect a castle.

"It's a perfect place to build a castle," Neil Chadwick, librarian and archivist at Hull History Centre, says.

"It is a formidable place to attack."

Neil explored the location as part of the Hidden East Yorkshire Podcast.

"Looking now, we are surrounded by fairly flat land but back in the middle ages, that would have been a great expanse of water known as the North Carr," he says.

"It would have been swamp, it would've been marshland, so anybody who didn't know how to navigate it, they would succumb to the waters.

"Before you even get to Bransholme Castle, you've got to navigate the marshes as well - very challenging task."

Neil says he believes the whole area would have been surrounded by a moat that filled up just beyond the palisade.

"The moat is the great big mound of earth where the lord's tower would stand upon," he explains.

"The burley area is the area below that houses all the ancillary buildings, perhaps a small chapel, kitchen, bakery, blacksmiths, stables."

Neil says the castle would have been a "hive of activity".

"You'd have had staff, chamberlains, constables, all tending to the castle, day-to-day running whilst its lord sits in his tower, collecting taxes, issuing various orders, sending his men out into the countryside to patrol it and make sure the King's piece is kept."

But despite the glee Sir John might have felt after building his fortress, he was fined by King Edward III for building the castle without a licence.

He was pardoned and granted a licence to crenelate (official permission) from the King.

Sir John died in 1357, passing on the castle to his brother, Thomas, who then passed it on to his eldest daughter, Constance.

Bransholme Castle was then resigned to history.

"Now, it's just a series of lumps and bumps," Neil says.

"You wouldn't think it was the site of a castle, but the clues in the name - Castle Hill.

"People wouldn't give it a second glance, but look closer at history, and it was Bransholme's very own castle."

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