Stafford Castle (Kings Castle)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Broadeye

In the civil parish of Stafford.
In the historic county of Staffordshire (Modern Authority of Staffordshire, 1974 county of Staffordshire).

Castle built 1070 and recorded in Domesday as destroyed by 1086. Thought to be in town by river, most probably at Broadeye near site now occupied by Stone windmill of 1796. No remains. Rebuilt by 1102, and latterly used as a prison. Probably disused and in ruins by C16. King writes evidence for existence is doubtful, Renn presumes on same site as Stafford 2. However, it is now general accepted that it did exist separately from Castlechurch. A late C18 stone built windmill stands on the site of the castle and is, sometimes, said to standing on the foundations of the castle keep. This site is sometimes also confused with the large north gate of Stafford Town Walls which was used as the county jail for a period.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Nothing visible remains.

listed building

Images of England

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ91832325

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 77478

Books

Salter, Mike, 1997, Castles and Moated Mansions of Staffordshire (Malvern) p42
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p229
Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p67
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p453 [reject]
Greenslade, M.W. and Johnson, D.A. (eds), 1979, VCH Staffordshire Vol6 p200
Pevsner, N., 1974, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire (London, Penguin) p249
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p211-6 [Believe this to be same as Stafford Barons castle]

Journal Articles

Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
Carver, M., 1979, CBA Group 8: West Midlands Research Committees reports Vol22 p11-12
Palliser, D.M., 1972, 'Staffordshire Castles: A Provisional List' Staffordshire Archaeology Vol1 p5-8
Cantor, Leonard, 1966, 'The Medieval Castles of Staffordshire' North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies Vol6 p38-46
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]
de Mazzinghi, 1887, William Salt Archaeological Society Vol8 pt2 p3-11

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/warkseng.html#staf7]

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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