Oxford Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Jews Mount; St Georges Tower

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

Motte and bailey founded 1071, later shell keep. Ruinous by 1331. The site was largely cleared and new buildings completed in 1805. Although built on an uninhabited site excavation has revealed numerous Saxon pits and traces of habitation under the motte where C10 pottery was found. A secular college, St George in the Castle, was founded 1074 and absorbed by Osney Abbey 1144. The abbey established a college for scholars as well as chaplains circa 1480. Dissolved 1539. The crypt remains, but it has been demolished and reconstructed first in 1794 and again in 1848. Masonry defences now mainly gone except for unusual St Georges Tower, which may be Saxon in origin.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major 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 245997, 245996, 246003)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP509063

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; 1121224, 338353

• Web site links
  • http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/index/things_to_do/oxfordshire_museums_service/oxfordcastleprison.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/164/oxfordcastle.htm
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/easy_results.asp?index=1&main_query=oxford%20castle
• Books
  • Davies, M.J., 2005, Stories of Oxford Castle: From Dungeon to Dunghill (Oxford Towpath Press)
    Gravett, C., 2003, Norman Stone Castles 1 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing) p43-4
    Dodd, Anne (ed), 2003, Oxford before the university: the late Saxon and Norman archaeology of the Thames crossing, the defences and the town (Oxford Archaeology: Thames Valley landscape monograph 17) [esp chap4 by Julian Munby and David Wilkinson]
    Creighton, O., 2002, Castles and Landscapes (London and New York: Continuum) p134-5
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern) p73
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p205-6
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p386
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p273
    Cooper, J., 1979, ‘Castle’, in Crossley, A. (ed), VCH Oxfordshire Vol4, The City of Oxford (OUP for the Institute of Historical Research) p296-300 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22809
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Crossley, A. (ed), 1972, VCH Oxfordshire Vol10 p1-125
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p771-5
    RCHME, 1939, Inventory-City of Oxford (HMSO) p156-8 plates 211-13
    Squires, 1928, In West Oxford (London and Oxford) p52-84
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p41-4
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p180-1
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p159-163
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p408-10
    Ackermann, Rudolph, 1814, History of Oxford
    King, Edward, 1796, Vestiges of Oxford Castle (London)
    Buck, Samual and Buck, Nathaniel, 1774, Buck's Antiquities or Venerable remains of above four hundred castles, monasteries, palaces etc. Vol2 (London) p241
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p182-5
    Burghers, M., 1719, Conspectus Quadruplex Castri sive arcis oxoniensis
• Journal Articles
  • Guy, Neil, 2005-6, 'Oxford Castle' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol 19 p152-178
    2005-6, 'Oxford Castle Redevelopment' Castle Studies Group Journal Vol 19 p118-21
    Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p309, 315
    Youngs, S.M. and Clark, J., 1981, ‘Medieval Britain in 1980' Medieval Archaeology Vol25 p212
    Hassall, T.G., 1978, ‘Oxford Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol135 p268-9
    Hassall, T.G., 1976, 'Excavations at Oxford Castle , 1965-1973' Oxoniensia Vol41 p232-308
    Hassall, T.G., 1973, Oxoniensia Vol38 p280-5
    Hassall, T.G., 1971, Oxoniensia Vol36 p9-10
    1971, Medieval Archaeology Vol15 p148
    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
    Jope, E.M., 1952, 'Late Saxon Pits under Oxford Castle Mound: Excavations in 1952' Oxoniensia Vol17 p77-111
    Lynam, Charles, 1911, 'The Crypts of the Churches of St Peter in the East, and of St George within the Castle, Oxford' Archaeological Journal Vol68 p209-17
    Hope, W.H.St John, 1910, Archaeological Journal Vol67 p363-6
    Parker, 1886, Oxford Architectural Society [new ser] Vol5 p14-20
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1851, 'The castle, and 'the provisions of Oxford'' Archaeological Journal Vol8 p354-65
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1850, Archaeological Institute p135-43
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Annales monasterii de Oseneia (1016-1297) in Annales Monastici IV p. 9. Cottonian Library
    The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Laud Chronicle AD1140
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/gloceng.html#oxon11]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p365