Huntingdon Castle

In the civil parish of Huntingdon.
In the historic county of Huntingdonshire (Modern Authority of Cambridgeshire, 1974 county of Cambridgeshire).

Norman motte and bailey castle built in 1068 for William the Conqueror, possibly on site of a danish fortification. Low and large motte surrounded by several baileys, and foundations of a gatehouse. Dismantled in 1174. The castle was refortified during the Civil War when the bailey rampart was altered to support artillery guarding the Ouse crossing. Emergency excavation and recording undertaken in 1975 during landscaping of site following the construction of the Huntingdon Bypass. Evidence indicated that the castle rampart above the bailey was probably erected during the Civil War. Below this were a number of graves, possibly associated with a chapel known to have existed within the castle.

This site has been described as a;
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 TL240714

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; 366710

• Web site links
  • http://www.huntingdon-town.info/history/huntingdon_castle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles of East Anglia (Malvern) p19
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p12-13
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p133, 134
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    Taylor, Alison, 1986, Castles of Cambridgeshire (Cambridge)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p224
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p245-6
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p682
    Page, Wm, Proby, Granville, and Ladds, S. Inskip (eds), 1932, VCH Huntingdon Vol2 p130-1
    RCHME, 1926, An inventory of the historical monuments in Huntingdonshire p149-51
    Inskip Ladds, S., 1926, in Page, Wm and Proby, Granville (eds), VCH Huntingdon Vol1 p288-90
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p162-4
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p316-17
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p126-8
• 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 p309, 315
    1968, Medieval Archaeology Vol12 p175
    Dickinson, 1963, CBA Group7 Vol10 p2
    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]
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    1937, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol1 p136, 141
    1909-14, Transactions of the Cambridge and Huntingdonshire Archaeological Society Vol3 p385-6
    Armitage, E., 1904 April, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' The English Historical Review Vol74 p233-4
    Clark, 1874, The Builder Vol32 p432 [reprinted in MMA]
    Country Life Vol108 p1579-81
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#hunts2]