Le Chastel Sedement, Trinity

Le Chastel Sedement (or Les Câtieaux or Les Châteaux) was a fortified refuge which probably dates from the thirteenth century. It comprised central keep area of earth piled up high  in a rough circle. This was surrounded by earth banks making a four-sided enclosure. It was clearly only designed as a short-term refuge with its earth banks.

It was mentioned in at least one medieval document in the early 1400s as a place where defenders of the Island could retreat to continue some resistance.

It is possible that in medieval times, the earlier refuge sites like Le Câtel at Rozel and other Iron Age sites might have been used in the face of invaders. It is not clear whether this was the case, until and unless comprehensive archaeological investigations are carried out. There would also have been a small number of fortified houses, held by prominent landowners, which would have provided some refuge against a small band of marauding invaders. St Ouen’s Manor is recorded as being one such example.

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