Beauchamps Court, Alcester

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Alcestre

In the civil parish of Alcester.
In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Warwickshire, 1974 county of Warwickshire).

The site of a C14 manor house, represented now by the earthwork remains of a moated island, a fishpond and a series of enclosures. The moated island is sub-rectangular in plan and its surface is slightly raised to the east and at the north western corner, suggesting the location of buried building remains. The island is surrounded by a partially waterfilled moat, the southern and western arms of which have been partly infilled. The remains of a fishpond lie adjacent to the south eastern corner of the moat. A series of dry channels form enclosures on the north side of the moat, one of which contains an area of ridge and furrow. Beauchamp's Court came to the Beauchamp family in 1266 and in 1340 Giles de Beauchamp was granted a licence to crenellate his manor and surround it with a wall of stone. The moat is about 55 by 40m and the ditch is 10-12m wide and 1.5m deep. The S ditch is no longer traceable.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1340 April 9.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP08535861

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; 328447

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 6146

• Web site links
  • http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA6146
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p343
    Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p29
    Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p18
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p485 [possible]
    Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1945, VCH Warwickshire Vol3 p12,15-16
• Journal Articles
  • Chatwin, P.B., 1947-8, 'Castles in Warwickshire' Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol67 p28-29
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Charter Rolls Vol4 p466
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/warkseng.html#warks9]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p469-70