Bredwardine Oldcastle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bradwardine; Bradwardin; Castle of Gronw; Castel Place

In the civil parish of Bredwardine.
In the historic county of Herefordshire (Modern Authority of Herefordshire, 1974 county of Hereford and Worcester).

Remains of a motte and bailey, two fish ponds and pond bay. A square building on the mound was excavated circa 1956. The bailey enclosure was seen as an earthwork and mapped from aerial photographs. The castle has an oblong shaped bailey and the site of a keep, 78ft by 45ft at the south end. Mentioned as old in 1227. Probably built soon after Conquest.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO33514438

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 106095

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1564

• Web site links
  • http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/bredwardine.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p16
    Shoesmith, Ron, 1996, Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p203
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p194
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. Vol1: south-west p.xxxvi, 26 [Plan]
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p148
    Chalkley Gould, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hereford Vol1 p233-4
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p97
    Robinson, Rev C.J., 1867, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (Logaston Press, 2002 reprint) p19-24, and appendix ii
• Journal Articles
  • Shoesmith, R., 1971 Oct, Herefordshire Archaeological newsheet Vol23, Plan
    Shoesmith, R., 1971, Medieval Archaeology Vol15 p163
    Shoesmith, R., 1970, West Midlands Archaeological news sheet, CBA Group 8 Vol13 p49
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
    Cohen, I., 1956, Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Vol35 p182-3
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/hertseng.html#herts6]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p216, 225