Fort du Muret, Ruined motte-and-bailey castle in Les Andelys, France
Fort du Muret, also called the motte de Cléry, is a ruined earthen fortification at the hamlet of Cléry in Les Andelys, Eure, Normandy. The mound stands about 5 metres high, a cone 20 metres across, and is ringed by a water-filled ditch roughly 10 metres wide that is still visible. Trees and undergrowth now cover the earthwork, and no masonry remains on it.
The mound at Cléry already existed when, in 1198, it was adapted as an outpost of Château-Gaillard to complete the defensive system set up by Richard the Lionheart. Its capture by Philip Augustus in 1203 was the prelude to the siege of the castle of La Roche d'Andeli, which fell on 6 March 1204.
The name motte de Cléry comes from the hamlet of Cléry, in the commune of Les Andelys, where the earthwork stands. In 1198 the pre-existing mound was adapted as an outpost of Château-Gaillard, part of the defensive system set up by Richard the Lionheart. The site has not been fully excavated.
The site sits on an open plateau and is reached on foot along unpaved paths, so sturdy footwear is a good idea. There is little signage on the ground, so it helps to locate the mound on a map before arriving.
The mound was never fully excavated, so what lies inside remains unknown; the deep well described in older accounts is not attested in the sources. What is recorded is a tower on top, used to watch the roads toward Gaillon and Vernon.
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