Lidgate Castle

Last updated

Lidgate Castle
Lidgate, Suffolk, England
Lidgate Church - geograph.org.uk - 189241.jpg
Lidgate Church, located against part of the castle bailey and incorporating the castle chapel
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lidgate Castle
Coordinates 52°11′39″N0°30′59″E / 52.1943°N 0.5165°E / 52.1943; 0.5165 Coordinates: 52°11′39″N0°30′59″E / 52.1943°N 0.5165°E / 52.1943; 0.5165
Grid reference grid reference TL721581
Type Motte and bailey
Site information
ConditionEarthworks remain

Lidgate Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the village of Lidgate, Suffolk, England, built to an unusual quadrangular design.

Contents

Details

Plan of Lidgate Castle in 1911 Lidgate Castle plan.jpg
Plan of Lidgate Castle in 1911

Lidgate Castle was built in the village of Lidgate, Suffolk, probably around 1143, during the years of the civil war known as the Anarchy. [1] At this time King Stephen of England was engaged in a campaign against the rebel baron Geoffrey de Mandeville, and the castle may have been built as part of the campaign to contain his advances in the region. [2]

The castle was built on a natural rise, and takes the form of an unusual, quadrangular motte and bailey design. [3] The motte is square, 20 m across and is today around 2 m high, with two adjacent protective platforms alongside it; the main bailey to the south is protected by a protective ditch, 20 m wide and 5 m deep, and a 3.2 m high outer bank. [3]

The castle was probably abandoned in the 1260s, and at some point in the 13th or 14th century, St Mary's Church was built inside the bailey, against the earthworks. The church's nave was probably the original castle chapel – the south side of the castle was largely destroyed to make way for the growth of the village and agriculture. [4] Today the castle is a scheduled monument. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Clun Castle

Clun Castle is a medieval ruined castle in Clun, Shropshire, England. Clun Castle was established by the Norman lord Robert de Say after the Norman invasion of England and went on to become an important Marcher lord castle in the 12th century, with an extensive castle-guard system. Owned for many years by the Fitzalan family, Clun played a key part in protecting the region from Welsh attack until it was gradually abandoned as a property in favour of the more luxurious Arundel Castle. The Fitzalans converted Clun Castle into a hunting lodge in the 14th century, complete with pleasure gardens, but by the 16th century the castle was largely ruined. Slighted in 1646 after the English Civil War, Clun remained in poor condition until renovation work in the 1890s.

Clare Castle Castle in Suffolk, England

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.

Longtown Castle Norman fortification in Longtown, England

Longtown Castle, also termed Ewias Lacey Castle in early accounts, is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey fortification in Longtown, Herefordshire. It was established in the 11th century by Walter de Lacy, reusing former Roman earthworks. The castle was then rebuilt in stone by Gilbert de Lacy after 1148, who also established the adjacent town to help pay for the work. By the 14th century, Longtown Castle had fallen into decline. Despite being pressed back into use during the Owain Glyndŵr rising in 1403, it fell into ruin. In the 21st century the castle is maintained by English Heritage and operated as a tourist attraction.

Deddington Castle Motte-and-bailey castle in Oxfordshire

Deddington Castle is an extensive earthwork in the village of Deddington, Oxfordshire, all that remains of an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle, with only the earth ramparts and mound now visible.

Eye Castle

Eye Castle is a motte and bailey medieval castle with a prominent Victorian addition in the town of Eye, Suffolk. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the castle was sacked and largely destroyed in 1265. Sir Edward Kerrison built a stone house on the motte in 1844: the house later decayed into ruin, becoming known as Kerrison's Folly in subsequent years.

Haughley Castle

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.

Thetford Castle 11th-century castle in Thetford, England

Thetford Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the market town of Thetford in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. The first castle in Thetford, a probable 11th-century Norman ringwork called Red Castle, was replaced in the 12th century by a much larger motte and bailey castle on the other side of the town. This new castle was largely destroyed in 1173 by Henry II, although the huge motte, the second largest man-made mound in England, remained intact. The motte, recognised as a scheduled monument, now forms part of a local park, and the remains are known variously as Castle Hill, Castle Mound and Military Parade.

Totternhoe Castle

Totternhoe Castle was a Norman castle in Totternhoe. Bedfordshire. Only earthworks survive. It is a Scheduled Monument, and part of Totternhoe Knolls Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Castles in South Yorkshire

While there are many castles in South Yorkshire, the majority are manor houses and motte-and-bailey which were commonly found in England after the Norman Conquest.

Berkhamsted Castle Norman castle in Hertfordshire, UK

Berkhamsted Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The castle was built to obtain control of a key route between London and the Midlands during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. Robert of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half brother, was probably responsible for managing its construction, after which he became the castle's owner. The castle was surrounded by protective earthworks and a deer park for hunting. The castle became a new administrative centre of the former Anglo-Saxon settlement of Berkhamsted. Subsequent kings granted the castle to their chancellors. The castle was substantially expanded in the mid-12th century, probably by Thomas Becket.

Miserden Castle

Miserden Castle was a castle near the village of Miserden in Gloucestershire, England.

Bishopton Castle

Bishopton Castle was a medieval castle in Bishopton village, County Durham, England. The surviving motte is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Stogursey Castle

Stogursey Castle is a medieval castle in Somerset, England. Most of the site is in ruins, but there is a thatched gatehouse used for holiday rental by the Landmark Trust.

Denham Castle

Denham Castle, also known as Castle Holes, is a medieval motte and bailey castle near the village of Gazeley, Suffolk, England. The castle was also known as Desning Castle at the time of building and occupation.

Great Ashfield Castle Castle in the United Kingdom

Great Ashfield Castle, also known locally as Castle Hill, is a medieval motte and bailey castle near the village of Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England.

Middleton Mount

Middleton Mount, also called Middleton Motte and Middleton Castle, is the remains of a medieval castle situated in the village of Middleton, in Norfolk, England.

Bolbec Castle

Bolbec Castle or Bolebec Castle, was a castle in the village of Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, England.

Stansted Mountfitchet Castle

Stansted Mountfitchet Castle, also termed simply Mountfitchet Castle, is a Norman ringwork and bailey fortification in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England. The site is currently in use as a Living history museum.

Sutton Valence Castle Castle in Sutton Valence, Kent, England

Sutton Valence Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the village of Sutton Valence in Kent, England. Overlooking a strategic route to the coast, the original castle probably comprised an inner and an outer bailey and a protective barbican, with a three-storey high keep on its southern side.

References

  1. Lidgate Castle Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine , National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 3 July 2011.
  2. Pettifer, p.236.
  3. 1 2 Lidgate Castle Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine , National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 3 July 2011; Wall, p.600.
  4. Lidgate Castle Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine , National Monuments Record, English Heritage, accessed 3 July 2011; Wall, p.600; Bailey, p.121; Pettifer, p.236.
  5. Lidgate Castle , Gatehouse website, accessed 3 July 2011.

Bibliography