Deddington Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Dedington

In the civil parish of Deddington.
In the historic county of Oxfordshire (Modern Authority of Oxfordshire, 1974 county of Oxfordshire).

C11 motte and bailey castle, with a bailey to the West of the motte, and a ditched enclosure to the east which contained 4 fishponds. The motte and its western bailey survive as earthworks whilst the eastern enclosure is visible as a cropmark. The earliest reference to the castle is 1204 when it was in royal hands. However, excavations have shown that it was built on a Saxon site, fragmentary buildings and associated artefacts, being present. In its initial phase, the castle consisted of a motte and large bailey. At this time, or shortly after, an L-shaped hall was constructed, and it is thought that this was built by Bishop Odo of Bayeux. While this was in use, an inner bailey was created. By circa 1200, a substantial curtain wall had been built with gatehouse into the outer bailey, the motte had been levelled, and a range of domestic buildings, including C12 & C13 chapels, created. It was refurbished from the mid C12 until the early decades of C13, and then suffered a long decline.

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.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP474311

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; 337067

• Web site links
  • http://www.deddington.org.uk/history/castle.html
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.180
• Books
  • Elliot, Julia (ed), 2005, Heritage Unlocked; Guide to free sites in London and the South East (English Heritage) p98-9
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p69
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p204
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p385
    Crossley, Alan (ed), 1983, VCH Oxfordshire Vol11 p90-91
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p219
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, 1963, History of Deddington (S.P.C.K.) p12-14 and elsewhere
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p28
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Potts, W., 1907, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Oxfordshire Vol2 p324-5
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p154-5
• Journal Articles
  • Ivens, R.J., 1984, ‘Deddington Castle, Oxfordshire, and the English honour of Bayeux' Oxoniensia Vol49 p101–19
    Ivens, R.J., 1983, ‘Deddington Castle, Oxfordshire. A summary of excavations 1977–1979’. South Midlands Archaeology 13 p34–41
    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]
    1957, Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society Vol51 p52
    Jope, E.M. and Threlfall, R.I., 1946-7, ‘Recent Mediaeval finds in the Oxford District' Oxoniensia Vol11-12 p167-8
    Marshall, 1879, North Oxfordshire Archaeological Society Vol14 p17-18
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p332