Castle Camps

Last updated

Castle Camps was a Norman Castle located in what is now the civil parish of Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire.

Contents

Owners

Castle Camps was originally a Saxon manor, belonging to Wulfwin, a Thane of King Edward the Confessor. After the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror gave the manor to Aubrey de Vere I, ancestor to the Earls of Oxford. The castle remained in the de Vere family until 1584, when it was sold by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, to Thomas Skinner (d.1596), Lord Mayor of London. [1] On 2 August 1607, it was bought by Thomas Sutton, who endowed it to Charterhouse, who in turn sold all the estate except Castle Farm and Manor in 1919. Between 1941 and 1945, a large part of the land of became an airfield.

History

In 1086, it was recorded in the Domesday Book as follows:

Castle Camps [Canpas]: Robert Gernon holds 2 hides in CAMPS, and Thurstan from him. Land for 6 ploughs. In lordship 2; 8 villagers with 8 smallholders have 4 ploughs. 6 slaves; meadow for 2 ploughs; woodland, 12 pigs. Value £4; when acquired 30s; before 1066 40s. Leofsi held this land under Earl Harold [former king], and could withdraw without his permission.In CAMPS Aubrey de Vere holds 2½ hides. Land for 11 ploughs. In lordship, 1 hide and 1 virgate; 4 ploughs there. 17 villagers with 4 smallholders have 7 ploughs. 6 slaves; meadow for 3 ploughs; woodland for 500 pigs; from village grazing 8s. Total value £15, when acquired £12; before 1066 as much.Wulfwin, King Edward's thane, held this manor. Norman holds ½ hide of this land from Aubrey. Land for 1 plough; it is there. The value is and always was 40s.

The Inquisitio Comitatus Cantabrigiensis, however, stated that there was land for 12 ploughs; 20 head of cattle, 134 sheep, 43 pigs, 50 goats, 2 horses; and that Norman holds ½ hide from Aubrey separate from the 2½ hides, making up part of a five-hide assessment. [2]

Aubrey de Vere I may have fortified the manor house or ordered a Motte-and-bailey castle constructed, although the castle could date from the twelfth century. In the later twelfth century it would have been the largest fortress in the county of Cambridgeshire and was notable for its small bailey and the size of its motte, whose flat top covered just over an acre. There are records of work being carried out in the castle between 1265 and 1331, and it has been suggested that this could refer to the construction of the new bailey.

In the late 15th century, a four-storey brick tower was attached to the castle. The brick tower remained until 1779 when it was blown down by a high wind. The manor house was rebuilt in the 16th century, but fell down in 1738. Part of the back wall was then used in the construction of a smaller farmhouse, called Castle Farm. Most of this wall still stands. About this time a sketch was made of the Castle by S H Buck, dated 1731.

No warfare was recorded here; though justices of the peace were driven away by force of arms in 1526, during quarrels between a dowager countess and the new earl.

Present

The only remains of the Norman Castle which still exist above ground is a piece of rubble in the yard to the south of the present farmhouse and Earthworks. It is a Scheduled Monument.

The highest point in the parish is at Wigmore Pond at 415' ASL. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagnor</span> Village in England

Bagnor is a village close to the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire and situated on the banks of the River Lambourn. At the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of Speen. It is best known as the home of the Watermill Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedingham Castle</span> Castle in Essex, England

Hedingham Castle, in the village of Castle Hedingham, Essex, is arguably the best preserved Norman keep in England. The castle fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100, and the keep around 1140. However, the keep is the only major medieval structure that has survived, albeit less two turrets. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. The keep is open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimpton, Hertfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Kimpton is a village in Hertfordshire, England, six miles south of Hitchin, seven miles north of St Albans and four miles from Harpenden and Luton. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,167.

Wood Walton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Wood Walton lies approximately 6 miles (10 km) north of Huntingdon and just east of the A1. Wood Walton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilmcote</span> Village in Warwickshire, England

Wilmcote is a village, and since 2004 a separate civil parish, in the English county of Warwickshire, about 3 miles (5 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow, and the 2001 population for the whole area was 1,670, reducing to 1,229 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abinger</span> Civil parish in Mole Valley, Surrey, England

Abinger is a large, well-wooded and mostly rural civil parish that lies between the settlements of Dorking, Shere and Ewhurst in the district of Mole Valley, Surrey, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaudesert, Warwickshire</span> Villages in England

Beaudesert is a village, civil parish and former manor in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, immediately east across the River Alne to the east of Henley-in-Arden, to which it is closely associated and shares a joint parish council with. The main village, consisting of the church and a single short street of houses, stands close to the river and directly opposite Henley Church. Behind the village to the east rises the hill, locally known as 'The Mount', crowned with the earthwork remains of Beaudesert Castle of the De Montforts. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 919, increasing to 990 at the 2011 Census.

Judith of Lens was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister, Adelaide of Normandy and Lambert II, Count of Lens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebbesbourne Wake</span> Village in Wiltshire, England

Ebbesbourne Wake is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, some 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Salisbury, near the head of the valley of the small River Ebble. The parish includes the hamlets of Fifield Bavant and West End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brailsford</span> Human settlement in England

Brailsford is a small red-brick village and civil parish in Derbyshire on the A52 midway between Derby and Ashbourne. The parish also includes Brailsford Green. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 1,118. The village has a pub, a golf club, a post office and a school. There are many fine houses in the district including two 20th-century country houses: Brailsford Hall built in 1905 in Jacobean style, and Culland Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilkhampton</span> Human settlement in England

Kilkhampton is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Canfield Castle</span> Castle in the United Kingdom

Great Canfield Castle lies in the small village of Great Canfield, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Great Dunmow in Essex, England: grid reference TL595179.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Dean, West Sussex</span> Human settlement in England

West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England 5 miles (8 km) north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semer, Suffolk</span> Human settlement in England

Semer is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located adjacent to a bridge over the River Brett on the B1115 between Hadleigh and Stowmarket, it is part of Babergh district. The parish also contains the hamlets of Ash Street and Drakestone Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Wolford</span> Human settlement in England

Great Wolford is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. With the neighbouring parish of Little Wolford it is part of 'The Wolfords'.

Aubrey (Albericus) de Vere was a tenant-in-chief in England of William the Conqueror in 1086, as well as a tenant of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances and of Count Alan, lord of Richmond. A much later source named his father as Alphonsus.

East Hagginton was a historic estate within the manor and parish of Berrynarbor near to the coast of North Devon. It is near to, if not actually encompassing, the site of Watermouth Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber, Herefordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Humber is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, and is 10 miles (16 km) north from the city and county town of Hereford. The closest large town is Leominster 3 miles (5 km) to the north-west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edvin Loach and Saltmarshe</span> Human settlement in England

Edvin Loach and Saltmarshe is a civil parish in north-east Herefordshire, England, and is approximately 15 miles (24 km) north-east from the city and county town of Hereford. The nearest town is Bromyard, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the south-west. Within the parish is a George Gilbert Scott built parish church in the virtually depopulated settlement of Edvin Loach, and the repurposed site of the demolished Saltmarshe Castle.

Sir John de Radynden (1274-c.1350) was the only child of Walter and Agatha. He inherited his father's estate of Radynden, as well as the properties of his mother and his aunt, Alice de Mucegros. He initially was in the service of Hugh Despenser the Elder and later was a Member of Parliament for Sussex.

References

  1. Shipley, N.R., 'The History of a Manor: Castle Campes, 1580-1629', Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Vol. LXVII, 1974, pp. 162-81.
  2. Victoria County History of Cambridgeshire, vol. I, p. 408.
  3. Ordnance Survey 1" to the mile map 148 Saffron Walden 1968 edition.

Coordinates: 52°03′22″N0°22′21″E / 52.056107°N 0.372603°E / 52.056107; 0.372603