Longtown Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ewyas Lacy; Ewias Lacy; Newcastle; Novum Castrum

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

Motte and bailey castle extant by 1187 with the remains of a circular, two-storey, stone keep. Has a pentagonal inner bailey, with masonry curtain wall and gate, and an outer bailey 46m beyond it and a large eastern bailey beyond the modern road, enclosed by a high rampart perhaps of Roman origin. Tower excavated in 1978 but no material found which was able to date tower which may date from c.1187 or 1213-23.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SO32092916

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; 105674

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1036

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/longtown.html
    http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/longtown.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/longtown/longtown.php#castle
    http://www.castles99.ukprint.com/Essays/longtown.html
    http://accessibility.english-heritage.org.uk/default.asp?wci=Node&wce=8027
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.345
    http://www.archenfield.com/Longtown.htm
• Books
  • Prior, Stuart, 2006, A Few Well-Positioned Castles: The Norman Art of War (Tempus) p110-164
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p476
    Salter, Mike, 2000, Castles of Herefordshire and Worcestershire (Malvern) p48-9
    Remfry, Paul M., 1997, Longtown Castle, 1048 to 1241 (SCS Publishing: Worcestershire)
    Shoesmith, Ron, 1996, Castles and Moated Sites of Herefordshire (Logaston Press)
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p100
    Morriss, Richard, and Williams, Robert, 1991, Longtown, Herefordshire – Notes on the History of Longtown or Ewyas Lacy, and the structural development of its castle. (City of Hereford Archaeology Unit, Hereford Archaeology Series 104)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p208, 213
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p256
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, N., 1963, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire (Harmondsworth)
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p107-8
    Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p97-8
    RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire. Vol1: south-west p182-4, 242
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p149
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Chalkley Gould, 1908, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hereford Vol1 p242
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p111-2
    Robinson, Rev C.J., 1867, The Castles of Herefordshire and Their Lords (Logaston Press, 2002 reprint) p97-100
• Journal Articles
  • Ellis, P., 1997, 'Longtown Castle: A report on excavations by J Nicholls, 1978'. Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalist Field Club Vol49 Part 1 64-84
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p317
    Attfield, C.E. (ed), 1978, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol35, 3/8
    Shoesmith, R. (ed), 1973, Herefordshire Archaeological News Vol26, 6
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Wilson and Hurst, 1966, 'Medieval Britain in 1965: II Post-conquest' Medieval Archaeology Vol10 p199
    Stanford, S C.,1965, Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, XXXVIII,156
    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
    Renn, D.F., 1961, 'The round keeps of the Brecon region' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol110 p141 and plate
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
• Guidebooks
  • Remfry, P.M., 1997, Longtown Castle – 1048-1241 (SCS Publishing, Worcester)