| Cary Castle | |
|---|---|
| Somerset, England | |
 Earthworks of Cary Castle | |
  Cary Castle | |
| Coordinates | 51°05′17″N2°30′50″W / 51.0880°N 2.5140°W Coordinates: 51°05′17″N2°30′50″W / 51.0880°N 2.5140°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference ST641322 |
| Type | Motte and bailey |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Only earthworks remain |
Cary Castle stood on Lodge Hill overlooking the town of Castle Cary, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [1]
The motte and bailey castle was built either by Walter of Douai or by his son Robert who also built Bampton Castle in Devon. During The Anarchy Robert was exiled by King Stephen and the castle given to Ralph Lovel who then sided with Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester against the king. King Stephen abandoned his siege of Bristol in 1138 and besieged Cary Castle with fire and showers of stones from siege engines. [2] This lasted until the garrison surrendered due to hunger. [3]
In 1143 Stephen lost control of the West Country after the Battle of Wilton. Henry de Tracy gained control of Cary Castle and built another stronghold in front of the older castle, however this was demolished when William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester and his troops arrived to take the castle. The Lovels later achieved the return of the castle, and their descendants were lords of the manor until the 14th century. [2]
By 1468 the castle had been abandoned. Around that time a manor house was built on or adjacent to the site of the castle, [4] possibly by Baron Zouche. It later passed to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset but by the 1630s it was occupied by Edward Kirton. It was largely demolished at the end of the 18th century. [2]
The site was excavated in 1890 and demonstrated the foundations of a 24-metre square stone keep and an inner and outer bailey. [1] [5] [6]
Only the earthworks now remain. Some of the stonework of the castle can be seen in the buildings of the town, and a display about its history is available in the Castle Cary and District Museum.
Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold of the Maxwell family from the 13th century until the 17th century, when the castle was abandoned. It was besieged by the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and underwent several partial demolitions and reconstructions over the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 17th century, the Maxwells were created Earls of Nithsdale, and built a new lodging within the walls, described as among "the most ambitious early classical domestic architecture in Scotland". In 1640 the castle was besieged for the last time and was subsequently abandoned. Although demolished and rebuilt several times, the castle retains the distinctive triangular plan first laid out in the 13th century. Caerlaverock Castle was built to control trade in early times.
Castle Cary is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) north west of Wincanton and 8 miles (12.9 km) south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire, adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Saxon burgh, it grew to become what historian Nicholas Brooks has described as "one of the most powerful royal castles of the 12th and 13th centuries". Held for the Empress Matilda during the civil war years of the Anarchy, it survived multiple sieges and was never taken. Over the next two centuries it became a luxurious castle, used by royalty and their immediate family. After being abandoned as a royal residence by Henry VIII, the castle fell into decline. Refortified during the English Civil War, it was eventually slighted, i.e. deliberately destroyed, after being captured by Parliamentary forces after a long siege. The site was subsequently left relatively undeveloped, and the limited remains of the castle walls and the considerable earthworks are now open to the public.
Castle Acre Castle and town walls are a set of ruined medieval defences built in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk. The castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest by William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, at the intersection of the River Nar and the Peddars Way. William constructed a motte-and-bailey castle during the 1070s, protected by large earthwork ramparts, with a large country house in the centre of the motte. Soon after, a small community of Cluniac monks were given the castle's chapel in the outer bailey; under William, the second earl, the order was given land and estates to establish Castle Acre Priory alongside the castle. A deer park was created nearby for hunting.
Bedford Castle was a large medieval castle in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy and the First Barons' War. The castle was significantly extended in stone, although the final plan of the castle remains uncertain. Henry III of England besieged the castle in 1224 following a disagreement with Falkes de Breauté; the siege lasted eight weeks and involved an army of as many as 2,700 soldiers with equipment drawn from across England. After the surrender of the castle, the king ordered its destruction.
Clare Castle is a high-mounted ruinous medieval castle in the parish and former manor of Clare in Suffolk, England, anciently the caput of a feudal barony. It was built shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by Richard Fitz Gilbert, having high motte and bailey and later improved in stone. In the 14th century it was the seat of Elizabeth de Clare, one of the wealthiest women in England, who maintained a substantial household there. The castle passed into the hands of the Crown and by 1600 was disused. The ruins are an unusually tall earthen motte surmounted by tall remnants of a wall and of the round tower, with large grassland or near-rubble gaps on several of their sides. It was damaged by an alternate line of the Great Eastern Railway in 1867, the rails of which have been removed.
Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port.
Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Anglo-Scandinavian settlement and chapel, the 12th-century enclosure castle and 18th-century battery, is a scheduled monument of national importance.
Bridgwater Castle was a castle in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
Deddington Castle is an extensive earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an eleventh century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth ramparts and mound now visible.
Haughley Castle was a medieval castle situated in the village of Haughley, some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. Prominent historians such as J. Wall consider it "the most perfect earthwork of this type in the county," whilst R. Allen Brown has described it as "one of the most important" castle sites in East Anglia.
Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of Winchester. The current heavily reconstructed buildings are the inner ward, which now houses the Museum of Somerset and the Somerset Military Museum. The building was designated a grade I listed building in 1952.
Prudhoe Castle is a ruined medieval English castle situated on the south bank of the River Tyne at Prudhoe, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building.
Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539.
Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built at least partly using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Richmont Castle was an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle near the village of East Harptree, Somerset, England. Now totally ruined, it once included parkland, an artificial lake and served as the local minery court.
Locking Castle was a castle that once stood on Carberry Hill near the site of RAF Locking in Locking in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.
There are over 670 scheduled monuments in the ceremonial county of Somerset in South West England. The county consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.