Waytemore Castle, Bishops Stortford

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Weytemore; Storteford

In the civil parish of Bishops Stortford.
In the historic county of Hertfordshire (Modern Authority of Hertfordshire, 1974 county of Hertfordshire).

Mound remains of castle founded by William I, situated north of the town on the east bank of the River Stort. The building foundations of a shell keep are dated to C12. Excavations uncovered Medieval buildings in the bailey apparently made with Roman material, Roman coins were also found. A Roman villa may be located in the vicinity of the castle. A licence to crenellate was issued to the Bishop of London in 1346.

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 footings remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1346 March 12.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 160900)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TL49002148

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; 370363

• Web site links
  • http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_east_anglia/167/waytemorecastle.htm
    http://www.hertsdirect.org/libsleisure/heritage1/archaeology/moreaboutarch/archsites/waytemorecastle/
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p49
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p327
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p167, 180
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p106
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p219
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p189
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Renn, D.F., 1971, Medieval Castles in Hertfordshire (Chichester) p23, 25, 26
    Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Hertfordshire Vol4 p150
    Page, Wm (ed), 1912, VCH Hertfordshire Vol3 p292-306 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43620
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p107
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    RCHME, 1910, An inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire p63-4
    Montgomerie, 1908, Page, Wm (ed), VCH Hertfordshire Vol2 p114-15
    Glasscock, 1905, in Standing, Mem. Old Herts. (London) p43-52
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p131
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p129-30
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p414
• Journal Articles
  • Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p318
    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]
    1937-9, Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol10 p226-7
    Braun, Hugh, 1938, Proceedings of the St Albans and Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol5 p200-3
    Glasscock, 1899-1901, Transactions of the East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Vol1 p45-55
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1345-48) p61
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/buckseng.html#herts8]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p235
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol4 p117