Oakham Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Okeham

In the civil parish of Oakham.
In the historic county of Rutland (Modern Authority of Rutland, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

The castle complex comprises a standing great hall and the remains of a motte inside a square inner bailey. To the north of this is a large rectangular outer bailey known as Cutts Close which contains dry fishponds and garden earthworks. The inner castle bailey measures 140 x 140m in overall dimensions. The great hall is situated close to its western boundary, and consists of an aisled building built of ironstone rubble. The inner bailey is delimited by a curtain wall dating to C13. On the inside, a bank, consisting of grassed-over collapsed stone rubble, slopes up to the wall and the remains of two towers or bastions can be identified on the western side. In the south east corner is the castle motte and stands to a height of about 6m. The hall of Oakham Castle is listed in the Domesday book. The stone built hall which survives today was built by Walkelin de Ferrers between 1180 and 1190.

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 186494)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK861088

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; 323228

• Web site links
  • http://www.rutnet.co.uk/rcc/rutlandmuseums/oakhamcastle.htm
• Books
  • Cantor, Leonard, 2003, The Scheduled Ancient Monument of Liecestershire and Rutland (Leicester: Kairos Press) p37
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p98-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p140
    Cox, B., 1994, The Place-Names of Rutland (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society) pli
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p417-8
    Hartley, R. F., 1983, The Mediaeval Earthworks of Rutland, A survey (Leicester) p30-32
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p270
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p765-6 [slight]
    Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1960, Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland (Harmondsworth) p18, 315-7
    Page, Wm (ed), 1935, VCH Rutland Vol2 p8-10
    Tipping, 1921, English Homes, period 1 (London) p28-31
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH Rutland Vol1 p115-6
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England Vol1 p422-4
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p330-1
    Turner, T.H., 1851, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol1 p28-31
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p242
• Journal Articles
  • Creighton, O.H., 2000, 'The Medieval Castles of Rutland: Field Archaeology and Landscape History' Rutland Record Vol20 p415-24
    Creighton, O.H., 1999, 'Early Castles in the Medieval Landscape of Rutland' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol73 p19-33 [plan]
    Nenk, B.S. et al, 1991 ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1990' Medieval Archaeology Vol35 p201
    Sharman, J. and Sawday, D., 1990, 'An archaeological evaluation in the outer bailey of Oakham Castle (SK 862 089)' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol64 p88-94
    Youngs, S.M. et al, 1988 ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1987' Medieval Archaeology Vol32 p260
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, J.G., 1959, ‘Medieval Britain in 1958' Medieval Archaeology Vol3 p308
    Gathercole, P.W., 1958, 'Excavations at Oakham Castle, Rutland, 1953-4' Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society transactions Vol34 p17-38
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, J.G., 1958, ‘Medieval Britain in 1957' Medieval Archaeology Vol2 p195
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, J.G., 1957, ‘Medieval Britain in 1956' Medieval Archaeology Vol1 p157
    Radford, C.A.R., 1955, 'Oakham Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol112 p181-4
    Wood, 1935, Archaeological Journal Vol92 p201-3
    1933, Archaeological Journal Vol90 p398-9
    Walker, John Holland,, 1925, 'Oakham Castle' Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire Vol28 p29-45
    Thompson, A.Hamilton, 1911-12, 'Oakham Castle' Rutland Magazine and County Historical Record Vol5 p80-88
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1848, 'The Hall of Oakham' Archaeological Journal Vol5 p124-42
• Guidebooks
  • Clough, T.H.McK., 1981, Oakham Castle: a Guide and History (Friends of Rutland County Museum)
    Thompson, A.Hamilton, n.d. [c1930], The Story of Oakham Church, School and Castle
    Finch, Pearl, 1904, Oakham Castle (Oakham)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#rut3]