Site Event/Activity record ECH4000 - Report on Geophysical Survey. Aldford Castle, Cheshire

A geophysical survey was undertaken at Aldford Castle, a scheduled motte and bailey castle located in the village of Aldford. Resistance survey was carried out on top of the motte and within the bailey. The summit of the motte is unusual in that it appears to be square in plan and there is some evidence of surviving stonework on the surface. There is no evidence for stone structures within the bailey and it may have contained only timber structures. The survey of the motte detected several high resistance anomalies suggestive of building remains, potentially a large rectangular building with a possible tower at the north-west corner, or alternatively, a range of buildings. The anomalies at the north-west corner suggest a better state of preservation. There is some evidence for the remains of a wall enclosing the motte. No clearly defined anomalies were detected within the bailey; some descrete high resistance anomalies in the north-west area of the bailey are thought to represent modern material. (1)