Benefield Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Beningfield

In the civil parish of Benefield.
In the historic county of Northamptonshire (Modern Authority of Northamptonshire, 1974 county of Northamptonshire).

The earthwork and buried remains of Benefield Castle, a medieval ringwork castle believed to have been constructed in the mid C12. It went out of use before 1315. The remains include a rectangular platform upon which are visible slight earthworks thought to indicate the remains of the castle's defensive, domestic and agricultural buildings. The platform is surrounded by a broad ditch, representing the original moat. this is in turn surrounded by an earthen bank. The castle is thought to have originated as a defended manor, later superseded by a manor house constructed a short distance to the north east.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP98718845

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; 347454

• Web site links
  • http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/141/benefieldcastle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p72
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p315
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p186
    RCHME, 1975, An inventory of the historical monuments in the County of Northampton. Vol1: North East Northamptonshire (HMSO) p18-19 plate 6
    Taylor, Christopher, 1974, Fieldwork in medieval archaeology p100
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1968, Buildings of England: Bedfordshire and the County of Huntingdon and Peterborough (Penguin) p99
    Page, Wm (ed), 1930, VCH Northampton Vol3 p76-7
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Bridges, John, 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northampshire (Oxford) Vol2 p395
• Journal Articles
  • 1976, CBA Group 9 Vol6 p24-5
    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]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p328, 333
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p12; Vol4 p123