Southampton Castle

In the civil parish of Southampton.
In the historic county of Hampshire (Modern Authority of Southampton; City of, 1974 county of Hampshire).

Norman motte and bailey was replaced by a stone castle by the latter C12, but the keep probably remained a timber structure until the end of C13. A new keep with four turrets was built 1378-80. In 1618 the ruined castle was sold into private hands and in 1804 the ruins were incorporated into a 'Gothic' castle. This was removed in 1818 and the mound lowered in 1822. The site is now occupied by a block of flats though some remains such as the north bailey wall still survive.

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.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SU41911141

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; 230568

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 8327

• Web site links
  • http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/hantsgaz/hantsgaz/s0006271.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p51
    Keevill, Graham D., 2000, Medieval Palaces, An Archaeology (Stroud; Tempus) p71, 149
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p89-91
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    Oxley, J. (ed), 1986, Excavations at Southampton Castle (Southampton: Southampton City Museums)
    Barron, W.G., 1985, The Castles of Hampshire and Isle of Wight (Paul Cave) p43-6
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p193
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p299-300
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Pevsner, N., and Lloyd, D., 1967. The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (London, Penguin) p545-6
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p840-4
    Anon, 1960, Historic Buildings of Southampton (Southampton) p27-31
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Vol3 p498-500
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p212-3
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p479-81
    Davies, 1883, History of Southampton (Southampton) p59-61, 73-84
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p394-5
• Journal Articles
  • Bradley, J and Gaimster, M. (eds), 2004, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2003' Medieval Archaeology Vol48 p270, 271
    Hughes, Michael, 1989, 'Hampshire Castles and the Landscape 1066-1216' Landscape History Vol2 p27-60
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p315
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p210
    Walker, 1978, Medieval Archaeology Vo22 p174
    [Aberg], 1962-3, Medieval Archaeology Vol6-7 p321
    [Aberg], 1961, Medieval Archaeology Vol5 p318
    [Aberg], 1960, Medieval Archaeology Vol4 p146
    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]
    1958, Medieval Archaeology Vol2 p198-9
    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
    Stone, P.G., 1932-4, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Vol12 p241-70
    Parker, 1872, Archaeological Journal Vol29 p375-6
    Clark, G.T., 1872, The Builder Vol30 p1025 [reprinted MMA]
    Kell, 1865, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol21 p197-208, 285-7
• Guidebooks
  • Hodgson. J., 1986, Southampton Castle (Southampton: Southampton City Museums)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/wilshireeng.html#hants5]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p204
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p277