Deepwood Motte

Deepwood Motte is a wooden motte-and-bailey castle in the heart of the wolfswood, the seat of House Glover. It was captured by Asha Greyjoy during the Ironborn invasion of the North and held by her until Stannis Baratheon's forces retook it. The castle became a key staging point for Stannis's campaign against the Boltons, but its remote location and the onset of winter made it a precarious base.

Location and Description

Deepwood Motte is situated in the deep forest of the wolfswood, surrounded by tall soldier pines and ancient oaks. The castle itself is a motte-and-bailey fortification: a wide, rounded hill with a flattened top, crowned by a cavernous longhall and a watchtower rising fifty feet above the hill. Below the hill lies the bailey, with stables, a paddock, a smithy, a well, and a sheepfold, all defended by a deep ditch, a sloping earthen dike, and a palisade of logs. The outer defenses form an oval, following the contours of the land. Two gates, each protected by a pair of square wooden towers, and wallwalks around the perimeter complete the defenses. On the south side, moss grows thick upon the palisade and creeps halfway up the towers. To the east and west are empty fields where oats and barley once grew, only to be crushed during Asha's attack; subsequent hard frosts killed any replanted crops, leaving only mud, ash, and wilted stalks. The castle is old but not strong, and its wooden walls proved vulnerable to assault.

Events at Deepwood Motte

Asha Greyjoy captured Deepwood Motte from the Glovers with thirty longships, but by the time Stannis arrived, only four longships remained, including her own Black Wind. The castle's defenses were insufficient to withstand a determined siege, and Asha's position became untenable when the northmen, led by the mountain clans, surrounded the castle. Stannis Baratheon, having marched from the Wall, took Deepwood Motte by surprise, overwhelming the ironborn garrison. Asha herself was captured during the battle in the wolfswood, where she fought with a throwing axe and a short sword before being knocked down by a northman's axe. She was brought before Stannis, who accepted her surrender but kept her in chains as a hostage. After the castle's recapture, Stannis restored it to House Glover, specifically to Robett Glover, who had been a prisoner of the Lannisters. The castle then became the assembly point for Stannis's host as he prepared to march on Winterfell.

Strategic Significance and Aftermath

Deepwood Motte's location in the wolfswood made it a natural base for Stannis's campaign, but its isolation also made supply and reinforcement difficult. The castle's wooden walls and earthen dikes were not designed to withstand a prolonged siege, and the surrounding forest provided cover for both attackers and defenders. After Stannis's departure, the castle was left with a reduced garrison under the command of Lady Sybelle Glover, who had been a prisoner of the ironborn. The castle's fate after Stannis's march remains uncertain, as the winter snows and the Boltons' counterattacks threatened to isolate it further. The castle's capture and recapture exemplified the shifting fortunes of the war in the North, where control of even minor strongholds could determine the outcome of campaigns.