Tattershall Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Tateshal

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

Enclosure castle constructed in C13 by Robert of Tattershall. Licence in 1231. In C15 it passed to Ralph, first Lord Cromwell, who rebuilt it as a fortified house and founded a college on the adjacent site. The castle was ocupied until 1693; it thereafter fell into disrepair in the years after 1912 restoration was undertaken by Lord Curzon under the direction of William Weir, architect. The remains take the form of an inner moated enclosure with two enclosures, also moated. Parts of the curtain wall survive in the western part of the enclosure adjacent to the later Great Tower. The foundations of two interval towers also survive, to the north and south of the Great Tower. The remains of another interval tower have been identified on the south side of the enclosure. Construction of the Great Tower commenced in the 1430s when the castle was converted into a fortified residence. The Great Tower is an outstanding red brick tower in English bond, with darker lattice lozenge decorations to upper parts, ashlar dressings, leaded roofs. Rectangular plan with facetted angle towers, originally with attached hall to courtyard side. 5 storey with undercroft, irregular 3 bay front with plinth, chamfered ashlar string course and embattled parapet with machicolated base.

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

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1231 May 21.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 400478, 400479, 400480, 400481, 400482, 400483)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TF21105754

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; 352629

• Web site links
  • http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/historicproperties/index.cfm?fuseaction=property&property_id=123
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/122/tattershallcastle.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_Tattershall.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/tattershall/tattershall.php#castle
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p64-7
    Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p308
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p146-7 [plans]
    Roffe, David, 1993, 'Castles' in Bennett, S. and Bennett, N. (eds), An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire (University of Hull Press) p40-1
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p263-4
    Thompson, M.W., 1981, ‘The architectural significance of the building works of Ralph, Lord Cromwell (1394-1456)‘, in A Detsicas (ed), Collectanea Historica: Essays in Memory of Stuart Rigold (Kent Archaeological Society) p155-62
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p304-5
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1964, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Harmondsworth) p390-4
    Simpson, D., 1960, The Building Accounts of Tattershall Castle, 1434-72 (Lincoln Record Society No55)
    Tipping, H.A., 1921, English Homes, period 1 Vol1 (London)
    Thompson, A. Hamilton, 1912, Military architecture in England during the Middle Ages (OUP) p355-8
    Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1911, Memorials of Old Lincolnshire p179-97
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Gotch, J. Alfred, 1909, The Growth of the English House (London: Batsford) p78-81
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p443-6
    Pickworth, M.A., 1891, History of Tattershall with the Church and Castle [not very reliable history]
    Reed, F.H., 1872, Illustrations of Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire (London)
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p229-30
    Weir, 1820, History and Descriptive Sketches of Horncastle (London) p86-96
    Anon, 1811, Topog. Account of Tattershall (Horncastle)
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p176
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p314, 320
    Coulson, C., 1979, 'Structural Symbolism in Medieval Castle Architecture' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol132 p84
    1974, Lincolnshire history and Archaeology Vol8 p44
    Thompson, M.W., 1974, Archaeological Journal Vol131 p317-21
    Simpson, 1935, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol40 p177- [building accounts]
    Tipping, H.A., 1915, Country Life Vol38 p18-26, 54-60
    Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1910, 'Tattershall castle and church' Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire Vol14 p28-45
    Sympson, Edward Mansel, 1909, Archaeological Journal Vol46 p349-50
• Guidebooks
  • Thompson, M.W., 1988, Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire (National Trust)
    Thompson, M.W., 1974, Tattershall Castle (National Trust)
    Anon, 1969, Tattershall Castle Lincolnshire (National Trust)
    Thompson, A Hamilton, 1930, Tattershall: the Manor, the Castle, the Church (Lincoln)
    Anon, 1926, (Boston)
    Marquis Curzon and Tipping, H.A., 1929, Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire (London)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Myers, A.R. (ed), 1969, English Historical Documents Vol4 1327-1485 p1118-23 [building accounts from Simpson]
    Simpson, D. (ed), 1960, The Building Accounts of Tattershall Castle, 1434-72 (Lincoln Record Society No55)
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1225-32) p435
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#lincs22]