Today, there are very few remains of the once great Pleshey castle. However, the shape and basic outline of the castle can be worked out. A tall mound situated to one corner is obviously the motte, there are very little remains of the keep. This is surrounded by a large ditch which you can cross using the large brick bridge. There is a large open area which is the site of the bailey. This, in turn, has a large bank surrounding it, and quite a large moat surrounding that. The brick bridge is the largest remaining feature. There is also a small, crumbling building below this bridge. This little structure is probably the remains of some sort of sewage system. A small arch at the base of the construction shows that it may have been the pit beneath a toilet. Also, it could have been the foundation for a guard house that had kept a previous draw-bridge. The only other evidence is a tiny section of wall on the top of the bank. This, we can assume, is the foundation of a curtain wall that surrounded the entire castle.

Source 1 is an excerpt from an account of Richard II visiting Pleshey. This was taken in 1389 and proves that it was still intact at this point in time. The

It is also unlikely that any other castles had a history at all similar to that of Pleshey's. It is clear that Pleshey lasted a lot longer than any other motte-and-bailey castles. As with most it was probably built around 1050 to 1200. However, it seemed most castles of its type were fading, but Plesehy was still in use till at least 1450. The time of occupation varied widely, some were abandoned not long after completion and others had a life of perhaps 150 years.

There is little evidence that people lived in the mottes, which would have been used largely as watch towers. There is no information about Pleshey that would prove this to be otherwise.

Firstly there is no such thing as a typical motte-and-bailey castle, therefore I disagree with the statement straight away. The only thing connecting most motte-and-bailey castles is that they all have mottes, and the all have baileys. As there is no typical motte-and-bailey, I will look at what makes Pleshey individual.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Richard II, Describe Castle, Pleshey's Pleshey, Queen Margaret, Domen Montgomery, richard ii, pleshey castle, castles type, motte-and-bailey castle, mentioned source, source 3, source 2, typical motte-and-bailey, mentioned source 3, typical motte-and-bailey castle, top motte, bridge built,
Approximate Word count = 1150
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)