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John of Gaunts Castle, Haverah Park
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Haywra; Heywra; Haywrocastell; Skargill; Skirgill; Scargill
In the civil parish of Haverah Park.
In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).
The standing ruins of a royal hunting lodge known as John of Gaunt's Castle, situated on a spur of land. The hunting lodge took the form of a stone tower standing on a square shaped platform surrounded by a moat with a large outer bank. The tower no longer stands, but the foundations for it survive as prominent earthworks. The moat surrounding the platform is 4m wide and 2m deep. The east and west outer banks are substantial, measuring 12m in width with steep sides up to 2m high. Was a royal hunting lodge for the medieval park of Haverah lying within the Forest of Knaresborough. It would serve as a royal residence and administrative centre when the king was hunting in the forest. The first reference to the lodge was in 1333 when substantial repairs were carried out to what was an already well established building. Haverah Park was created in the late C12 and the lodge may date to this time.
This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence
that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Masonry footings remains.
This site is a scheduled
monument protected by law.
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE21965455
PastScape number;
51828
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p42
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p310 [slight]
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p518
Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p671-3
Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p127
Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH York Vol2 p21
Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England (London) p431-2
Grainge, 1871, History and Topography of Harrogate and the Forest of Knaresborough (London) p345-7
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