Barnstaple Castle: A Medieval Fortress in England
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- English, Norman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Barnstaple Castle, founded in the 11th or 12th century, stood in Barnstaple, United Kingdom. Its founder is uncertain, and the first known written mention of the site dates to the 12th century.
Foundation and early lordship
If the castle originated in the 11th century, William the Conqueror may have ordered its construction during his subjugation of southwest England. Another possibility is that Geoffrey of Montbray built a wooden fortification there. If it was established later, it may have been built for Juhel of Totnes, who held the castle and lived there in the early 12th century. Around 1107, Juhel founded Barnstaple Priory just beyond the castle walls.
King Stephen granted the castle to his supporter Henry de Tracy. Stone buildings were erected on the mound during the 12th century, perhaps while Henry held the site. The castle later passed through the de Tracy family to another Henry de Tracy.
Decline and ruin
In 1228, Henry III ordered Devon’s sheriff, the Crown’s local official, to ensure the castle walls did not exceed 3 metres (10 feet). By the death of the last Henry de Tracy in 1274, the castle was beginning to decay. A formal inquiry in 1281 found that building materials had been taken without permission. Materials from the castle were also used in other buildings, and by 1326 the site was a ruin.
Later accounts and archaeological work
In his Itinerary, published in 1542, John Leland, a writer on historic places, described extensive ruins on the town’s northwestern side below the town bridge. He noted that part of the castle’s principal tower remained standing. Adam Wyat recorded that a storm brought down part of the walls in 1601.
Excavations took place in 1927 and 1975, and the report on the later work was published in 1986. Since 1950, the site has been protected as a scheduled monument, a designation for important archaeological sites and historic structures.
Remains
Castle mound and earlier cemetery
The castle occupied the western side of Barnstaple’s fortified town, near the present town centre, with a view over the town and its important river crossings. Its archaeological remains include a raised castle mound and an earlier cemetery beneath the castle.
Motte
The surviving castle feature is a tree-covered motte, a raised mound used as a platform for a castle.
Early medieval cemetery
The castle was built over an early medieval cemetery. Excavation uncovered 105 graves. Artefacts recovered from the burial ground suggest that the graves were most probably Christian.
