Knaresborough Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Knarsborrow; Cnaresburg

In the civil parish of Knaresborough.
In the historic county of Yorkshire West Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Medieval castle originally built between AD 1100-1160 with reconstruction in 1204-12 but little remains from this period. The present buildings consisting of a keep, gateway and curtain walls date from 1320-60 AD. It was much decayed by 1609. The keep is in fairly good condition and parts of the east gatehouse tower remains but only isolated fragments of the curtain wall survive. The moat from the east gate around the south arc of the castle to the river cliff is intact but landscaping of the north moat has destroyed its character. The castle and its environs have been converted to a public park.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 330755, 330756)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE34905688

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; 53332

• Web site links
  • http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/castle/index.html
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/knaresborough/knaresborough.php#castle
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/104/knaresborough.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p54-7
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p60-1
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p305
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p172
    Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p195
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p520
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p249
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London) p179-81
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Garlick, Tom, 1972, Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p20-21
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p687-91
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p206-7
    Illingworth, J.L., 1938 (republished 1970), Yorkshire's Ruined Castles (Wakefield) p57-63
    Braun, Hugh, 1936, The English Castle (Batsford) p56, 99, 112
    Barber, S.C., 1926, The Excavations (1925-6) upon the site of the 'castles' of Knaresborough (Knaresborough)
    Armitage and Montgomerie, 1912, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Yorkshire Vol2 p
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p230-2
    Speight, 1894, Nidderdale (London) p281-7 [mediocre]
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p168-76, 230
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p201-3
    Hargrove, Ely, 1798 (5edn), The History of the Castle, Town, and Forest of Knaresborough (York) p1-31
    King, Edward, 1782, Observations on Antient Castles (London) p145-50
    Hargrove, 1782, History of Knaresborough (Knaresborough) p19-45 [mediocre]
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p330
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol6 p128-32
• Journal Articles
  • Dixon, P., 1990, ‘The donjon of Knaresborough: the Castle as Theatre' Château-Gaillard Vol14 p121-39
    1987, ‘The Yorkshire Archaeological Register: 1986' Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol59 p200
    Le Patourel, 1963-66, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol41 p591-607 [excavation report]
    1962-3, Medieval Archaeology Vol6-7 p324
    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]
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    Atkinson, 1944-47, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol36 p198-208
    Atkinson, 1936-8, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol33 p175-95
    Atkinson, 1931-34, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol31 p114-131
    Barber, S.C., 1929-31, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol30 p200-24 [excavation report]
    1925, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol31 p266-7
    1923, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol29 p79-83
    1894-5, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol13 p110
    Clark, G.T., 1881, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol6 p98-112 [reprinted in MMA with fewer illustrations]
    1863, Gentleman's Magazine p638-41 [history]
    King, E., 1782, Archaeologia Vol6 p324-26 [reprinted in Antient Castle]
• Guidebooks
  • Kershaw, Mary J., 1987, Knaresborough Castle (Harrogate Borough Council)
    Barber, S.C., 1947, Knaresborough Castle ( Knaresborough)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/yorkseng.html#yorks18]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p560-1
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p86