Home | Books | Links
| Fortifications and Castles | Other
Information | Help | Downloads
| Author Information | Contact
Castle Bytham
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Biham; Bitham
In the civil parish of Castle Bytham.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire (Modern Authority of Lincolnshire, 1974 county of Lincolnshire).
Surface traces of stone buildings are visible on the mound and in the bailey area. The Motte consists of a large mound measuring 100m by 80m with a flattened rectangular area in the centre. A small mound exactly opposite the entrance to the motte may be the site of a Keep. The suggested Keep and Motte are surrounded by a ditch. The bailey is approximately 155m by 80m, and is surrounded by a large ditch roughly 15m wide. There are additional defensive banks along the top of the bailey. The Castle was first mentioned in 1141 when it was owned by William le Gros, who may have founded it. Stone defences were added by William de Fortibus, an infamous robber baron. Henry III captured and destroyed the Castle in 1221, but it was rebuilt by William de Colville. There is also a rectangular embanked enclosure, within the bailey, which may have enclosed some buildings. and may represent a village enclosure. (qv)
This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry 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 SK99071859
PastScape number;
325283
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p47
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p142
Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p40-1
Pevsner, Nikolaus and John Harris; revised by Nicholas Antram, 1989, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p493
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p260
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p197
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Stenton, F.M., 1932, The First Century of English Feudalism (Oxford) p144
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p429-32
Wild, 1871, History of Castle Bytham (Stamford)
Journal Articles
- Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p312
King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Château Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
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]
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
Most of the sites or buildings
recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission
to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant |
The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English
Heritage and other individuals and organisations. |
It is an offence to disturb a
Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of
everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site
without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation. |
Please help me to make this as
useful a resource as possible by contacting
me if you see errors
or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with
this site. |
¤¤¤¤¤
