Somerton Castle, Lincolnshire

In the civil parish of Boothby Graffoe.
In the historic county of Lincolnshire (Modern Authority of Lincolnshire, 1974 county of Lincolnshire).

Castle, granted licence to crenellate granted to Antony Bek (Bishop of Durham 1283-1311) in 1281, castle probably complete by 1305. Ruinious by 1601. Three towers, the south front and part of the curtain wall remain. Several earthworks were recorded from aerial photographs including a large enclosing ditch, a pond and a moat. Three mounds of uncertain function were also recorded. King John I of France was imprisoned here, 1359-60.

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

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1281 May 23.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 192186)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK95405875

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; 326074

• Web site links
  • http://www.magicjon.fsnet.co.uk/somerton.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p60-61
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p134, 175
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p144-5
    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) p640
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p262-3
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p838-9
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p440-2
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p6-9
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1853, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol2 p238
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1851, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol1 p172-3
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p175
• Journal Articles
  • Blagg, T.M., 1933, 'Somerton Castle' Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire Vol37 p49-60
    Sutton, 1909, Archaeological Journal Vol46 p362-5
    Bishop of Nottingham, 1890, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol46 p1-7 [history]
    Bishop of Nottingham, 1882, Archaeological Journal Vol39 p180-3
    Trollope, 1857, Associated Architectural Societies' reports and papers [Lincoln, York, Northampton, Bedford, Worcester, Leicester and Sheffield] Vol4 p49-64, 83-91
• 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 (1272-81) p440
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#lincs16]