Brinklow Castle
| Brinklow Castle | |
|
Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Earthworks of Brinklow Castle | |
| Type: | Motte and bailey |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP438796 |
| Location: | 52°24’46"N, 1°21’27"W |
| Village: | Brinklow |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Sparse remains |
Brinklow Castle known locally as the Tump, is a mediæval castle in the village of Brinklow in Warwickshire between Coventry and Rugby. All that remain are sparse remnant work on a bold motte.
History
Brinklow seems to have first been used as a prehistoric barrow, hence the old English of hlaw in the name 'Brinklow'.[1] The mound was later modified by Earl Alberic,[2] the first Norman lord of Brinklow; however Alberic left his Earldom in Northumbria and thus lost his lands in England before the writing of the Domesday. Nevertheless his land and title had not been reassigned by the time of the Domesday recording thus there is a good record of his land holdings.[3]
Brinklow is a motte and bailey castle of grand size: the motte is 39 feet high and its original bailey was 397 feet wide by 499 feet long, later it seems that Brinklow’s bailey was modified to enclose a smaller area by cutting a ditch and forming a rampart in the middle of the bailey:[4] this seems to suggest that Brinklow slowly declined.
Outside links
References
- Creighton C, 2002: Castles and Landscapes Power, Community and Fortification in Mediæval England. Equinox, Great Britain
- Chatwin P, 1955: Brandon Castle, Warwickshire, Birmingham and Warwickshire archaeology society, 73, 63-83
- Holt, J. 1972: Politics and Property in Early Mediæval England, Past and Present, 57, 3-52
- Williams A (Ed), Martin GH (Ed), 2003: Domesday book, A complete Translation. Penguin books, England
Further reading
- Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, The David & Charles Book of Castles, David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3