Ham Castle Ham Castle ( also known as Home or Homme Castle ) is located in Worcestershire at the bottom of a wooded escarpment ( and close to the River Teme ) , within the parish of Clifton - upon - Teme . It is about to the east of the village of Clifton - upon - Teme and about south of Great Witley . It was a medieval motte and bailey castle . A hoard of medieval gold and silver was found on the site in the 17th century . Only a mound now remains . Archaeology . The field in which the earthworks covering the remains of the medieval castle are located slopes from north to south . The motte ( mound ) is oval with a north - west / south - east orientation . It is about long and about wide at its widest point and it may have a rock outcrop in its core . It is surrounded by a high platform . Because of the considerable slope in the field the height of the motte compared to its immediate surrounds varies depending on which sided is used for comparison . On the north side the motte is about above the surrounding bailey while on the south side it is between } and high . The summit of the motte is flat , covered with grass and weeds with no visible footings . At the time of one survey ( in 1974 or 1986 ) there had been a fire on the north and south - west of the summit of the motte and stones visible in this area . The bailey on the south - west side is on a steep embankment ( and so is probably not very extensive ) . The bailey on the north to the east sides rises steeply , while that on the north to west sides is flatter , but ploughing has over the years destroyed visible traces of the outer curtain wall and any internal structures . The traces of a double moat , fed from a spring and the Teme is visible and may have extended around the castle . History . Ham Castle Farm , in the north - east of the parish , near the Teme , is on the site of the ancient Ham Castle , which , from its commanding position , must at one time have been a stronghold of importance . Historically , little is known of this castle , which is mentioned for the first time in 1207 . It evidently belonged to the owners of the manor of Ham , but seems to have been forfeited for some reason by one of them and given with many of their other estates by King John to Thomas de Galweya . Thomas was ordered in 1207 to deliver the castle ( castellum ) to William de Cauntelow to keep during the King ' s pleasure . No other direct reference to it has been found . It evidently followed the descent of the manor , but in 1275 and a hundred years later the dwelling at Ham is returned as a capital messuage . A stronghold of some kind seems , however , to have survived . The rest of history of the site may refer to the location now occupied by Ham Castle Farm and its surrounds ( some of which are grade II listed structures ) that are located about from the site of the earth works identified site of the medieval castle . The house was partly burnt in 1605 , and greatly injured during the Civil War . Tradition says it was besieged and much damaged by the Parliamentary army , whose cannonballs were long preserved there . A cannonball which was dug up on the bank opposite Ham Castle was in the possession of the vicar of Clifton in 1924 . The diary of Mistress Joyce Jeffreys , who took refuge there from the Parliamentary forces , contains various entries of fees paid for burying and digging up trunks and other property , according to the movements of the enemy . This upon one occasion seems to have led to the discovery by William Jeffreys , then owner of Ham Castle , of a chest containing " gold and silver and other kind of mettalls " , buried in some long forgotten earlier alarm . The vault in which this chest was found was in the middle of " an ancient fort made in the fashion of a half moon " . From the same diary it appears that General Gilbert Gerrard , Governor of Worcester , came to Ham Castle on 12 July 1645 and left the next day . Habington describes Ham Castle as " now ruinated " . The 17th - century house which replaced the castle was burnt to the ground in 1887 . The dates 1677 and 1680 with the Jeffreys arms on the hopper heads of the rain - water pipes in the large half - timbered mansion of Ham Castle , then destroyed , showed that rebuilding was done in those years by Henry Jeffreys . Though much defaced and altered before its final disappearance , the old house retained traces of ancient stateliness in its massive staircase , the oak bookshelves of the old library in the roof , and its beautiful garden terraces . On 1 March 1680 Henry Jeffreys paid 15s . hearth tax for fifteen hearths in his house at Ham Castle . The ruins at Ham Castle were reserved in a lease of 1759 , and the castle is mentioned in conveyances of the manor in 1805 and 1810 .