Woodwalton Castle
| Woodwalton Castle | |
|
Huntingdonshire | |
|---|---|
 Earthworks of Woodwalton Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL210827 |
| Location: | 52°25’46"N, 0°13’15"W |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Earthworks alone remain |
Woodwalton Castle was a small motte and bailey castle at Church End, the northern end of the parish of Woodwalton in Huntingdonshire. Located on a natural hillock, the earthworks of the castle remain today, with an outer moat enclosing a circular bailey with a central motte. A large dyke, apparently ancient, runs from the outer moat in a north-easterly direction.[1] The site is a scheduled ancient monument.
It is not known who built the castle or when it was constructed. It may have been erected by the de Bolbec family who held the manor of Woodwalton between 1086 and 1134, or by Ramsey Abbey which was granted the manor by Walter de Bolbec in 1134.[2] Alternatively, the castle may have one of many built during The Anarchy, either by the sons of Aubrey de Senlis, who seized Woodwalton in 1143–4, or by Ernald, illegitimate son of Geoffrey de Mandeville, who moved his forces from Ramsey to Woodwalton after the death of his father in 1144.[1][3]
The existence of fishponds implies that the castle outlived the period of military conflict and developed as a residence controlling the northern part of the parish.[2]
The main settlement, Woodwalton village, stands about a mile to the south, and its parish church, St Andrew's, stands in isolation 650 yards south of the castle, possibly to serve both settlements; the village and a settlement about castle.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Earthwork Mounts in Huntingdonshire, huntingdonshire.info, Retrieved 18 September 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Scheduling record: Castle Hill motte and bailey castle., English Heritage, 1997, http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/178.html, retrieved 18 September 2010
- ↑ Wareham, Andrew: 'Lords and communities in early mediæval East Anglia' (Boydell Press, 2005) ISBN 978-1-84383-155-6 p.91
