Castle Knob

The motte is linked to a 3-metre (9.8 ft) high mound to the east where a tower once stood, possibly to guard the main entrance to the site.

The remains of a number of structures including a main hall, living quarters, kitchens, workshops, stables and paddocks lie within the baileys.

[1] A 2007 South Derbyshire District Council plaque on the site notes that it pre-dates 1252 when the nearby settlement is first described as "Castelgresele", being named after the castle, but may even have been abandoned by this time.

[1][4] The land was owned by the de Gresley family and Georgian antiquarian Daniel Lysons wrote that they took their name from the settlement.

[7] In 1582 the antiquarian William Camden noted that remains of a mansion were visible on the site but that the de Gresleys had long abandoned the castle to live at nearby Drakelow.

[3] Shortly after the Second World War the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) installed an underground nuclear warfare monitoring post in the central bailey.

[2][4] The plaque on the site notes that the ROC lowered the motte slightly to widen the platform and allow them to better install monitoring equipment atop it.

The motte, viewed from the east
Castle Knob on a mid-20th century map. The rectangle south of the motte is the Royal Observer Corps post, at the bottom of the image is the Burton to Leicester railway line .
The motte viewed from the south-east, looking across the central bailey from the scarp
Above ground remains of the ROC post