Castle Thorpe, Castlethorpe

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Thorpe; Hanslope; Hamslape

In the civil parish of Castlethorpe.
In the historic county of Buckinghamshire (Modern Authority of Milton Keynes, 1974 county of Buckinghamshire).

Motte with two adjoining baileys, plus the earthwork remains of a fishpond complex. The castle earthworks have been damaged in places by village expansion. Destroyed by King John and rebuilt in 1292 when licence to crenellate issued (although King writes this was for a garden wall only.)

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.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1292 June 20.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP798445

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; 343081

• Web site links
  • http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/hdhs/Lords/castle.html
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p34
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p9
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p27
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p205
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1960, The buildings of England: Buckinghamshire (Harmondsworth) p19, 80
    Page, Wm (ed), 1927, VCH Buckinghamshire Vol4 p349
    RCHME, 1913, An inventory of the historical monuments in Buckinghamshire Vol2 [north] p16-7, 80-2
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH Buckinghamshire Vol2 p27
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p146
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
• Journal Articles
  • 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]
• 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 (1281-92) p497