Differing accounts of its origin exist. One states that in about 1142 AD during the reign of Stephen, Matilda built a motte castle.[1] According to other sources the castle was built in 1314–15, during the reign of Edward II, by Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who obtained a licence from the king[2] to "make a castle of his house at Bampton."[3]
The castle is mentioned in Skelton's, Antiquities of Oxfordshire, where he states that the castle was four-sided, with a tower at each corner and a fortified gatehouse on the eastern and western sides and corbelled out turrets for additional fortification.[4][5] The last known account of the castle intact is from Woods manuscript, preserved at Ashmolean Museum, wherein he states that when he visited the castle on the September 7, 1664, nearly the entire western side was intact.[4]
The castle was demolished before 1789[3] but parts of its structure have been incorporated into a house, Ham Court, which is a Grade II* listed building.[6]
There used to be an RAF communications station nearby which was called RAF Bampton Castle.[3]
The castle (as it was in the 1360s) is the primary setting for the fictional medieval mystery series written by Mel Starr, the first of which is "The Unquiet Bones, the first chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon."[7]
"Bampton Castle" was the name of the telephone exchange in the village.[8] It was presumably so named in order to reduce confusion with telephone exchanges for other places in Britain called "Bampton" (which did not have castles). The exchange still exists, serving Bampton and neighbouring villages. Its location is not particularly close to the old castle.
Stephen, often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne jure uxoris from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. His reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda, whose son, Henry II, succeeded Stephen as the first of the Angevin kings of England.
Rosamund Clifford, often called "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World", was a medieval English noblewoman and mistress of Henry II, King of England, who became famous in English folklore.
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin who drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120. Henry sought to be succeeded by his daughter, known as Empress Matilda, but was only partially successful in convincing the nobility to support her. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne, with the help of Stephen's brother Henry of Blois, who was the bishop of Winchester. Stephen's early reign saw fierce fighting with disloyal English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders. Following a major rebellion in the south-west of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester.
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, and her chief military supporter during the civil war known as the Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the throne of England.
Worminghall is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England.
Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (23 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London.
The county of Oxfordshire in England was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the land between the River Thames to the south, the Cotswolds to the west, the Chilterns to the east and The Midlands to the north, with spurs running south to Henley-on-Thames and north to Banbury.
Hugh de Puiset was a medieval Bishop of Durham and Chief Justiciar of England under King Richard I. He was the nephew of King Stephen of England and Henry of Blois, who both assisted Hugh's ecclesiastical career. He held the office of treasurer of York for a number of years, which led him into conflict with Henry Murdac, Archbishop of York. In 1153, Hugh was elected bishop of Durham despite the opposition of Murdac.
Asthall or Asthal is a village and civil parish on the River Windrush in Oxfordshire, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Witney. It includes the hamlets of Asthall Leigh, Field Assarts, Stonelands, Worsham and part of Fordwells. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 252. Asthall village is just south of the River Windrush, which also forms the south-eastern part of its boundary. The remainder of the parish including all of its hamlets lie north of the river. A minor road through Fordwells forms most of the parish's northern boundary. Most of the remainder of the parish's boundary is formed by field boundaries.
Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a settlement and civil parish in the Thames Valley about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,564. Bampton is variously referred to as both a town and a village. The Domesday Book recorded that it was a market town by 1086. It continued as such until the 1890s. It has both a town hall and a village hall.
Black Bourton is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) south of Carterton, Oxfordshire. The village is on Black Bourton Brook, a tributary of the River Thames. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 266. RAF Brize Norton adjoins the parish. The northern boundary of the parish is along the middle of the main runway of the airfield.
Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the first Earl of Macclesfield who made it his family seat, and altered further in the early nineteenth century. The Earls of Macclesfield remained in residence until 2004, and the castle is still (2022) owned by the Macclesfield family company. It formerly contained an important, early eighteenth century library which, along with valuable paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts including furniture, remained in the ownership of the 9th Earl and were largely dispersed at auction following his departure from the property; notable among these items were George Stubbs's 1768 painting "Brood Mares and Foals", a record setter for the artist at auction in 2010, the Macclesfield Psalter, numerous rare and valuable books, and personal correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton.
Yelford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hardwick-with-Yelford, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Witney. In 1931 the parish had a population of 17.
Bampton Castle in the parish of Bampton, Devon was the seat of the feudal barony of Bampton. It is located on a spur that overlooks the River Batherm.
Ardley Castle was a castle to the southwest of the village of Ardley, Oxfordshire, England. At present only some of its ruins, most notably an oval enclosure one hundred yards (91 m) in diameter, with a shallow ditch with an average depth of three feet (0.91 m), a derelict moat and the earthworks remain.
Shifford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the north bank of the River Thames about 6 miles (10 km) south of Witney.
Carterton railway station was a railway station just north of the village of Black Bourton on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford. The station had two stone-built platforms, a passing loop, and a concrete station building.
Kencot is a village and civil parish about 2 miles (3 km) south-west of Carterton in West Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 101.
The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon are a series of fictional medieval mysteries written by Mel Starr. The first, published in 2008 by Monarch Books, is The Unquiet Bones. The second, published in 2009, is A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel. The third, published in 2010, is A Trail of Ink. The fourth, published in 2011, is Unhallowed Ground. The fifth, sixth & seventh in the series are The Tainted Coin, Rest Not in Peace and The Abbot's Agreement.
Hugh de Neville was the Chief Forester under the kings Richard I, John and Henry III of England; he was the sheriff for a number of counties. Related to a number of other royal officials as well as a bishop, Neville was a member of Prince Richard's household. After Richard became king in 1189, Neville continued in his service and accompanied him on the Third Crusade. Neville remained in the royal service following Richard's death in 1199 and the accession of King John to the throne, becoming one of the new king's favourites and often gambling with him. He was named in Magna Carta as one of John's principal advisers, and considered by a medieval chronicler to be one of King John's "evil counsellors". He deserted John after the French invasion of England in 1216 but returned to pledge his loyalty to John's son Henry III after the latter's accession to the throne later that year. Neville's royal service continued until his death in 1234, though by then he was a less significant figure than he had been at the height of his powers.
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