Lydford Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Lidford

In the civil parish of Lydford.
In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).

Late C12 rectangular keep, with earth piled up around ground storey. Bailey survives as an earthwork, with its bank overlying traces of an infilled moat. The earliest reference to the castle is in 1195 when there is a reference to a strong house for the king's prisoners. (Pipe Roll, 7 Richard I, pp. xxvi, 126, 132)

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber 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.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX50848478

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; 440670

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/lydford/lydford.php
    http://britannia.com/history/devon/castles/lydfordcast.html
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/201/lydfordcastle.htm
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.278
• Books
  • Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
    Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p70-2
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p59-60
    Higham, R.A.,1987 'Public and Private Defence in the medieval South West: town, castle and fort' in Higham, R.A. (ed) Defence and Security in the South West before 1800 (Exeter Studies in History No19) p27-49
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    Mildren, James, 1987, Castles of Devon (Bossiney Books) p25-9
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p117
    Higham, R.A.,1980, 'Castles in Devon' in Archaeology of the Devon Landscape (ed S. Timms, Devon County Council) p70-80
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p258
    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) p733-4
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p89
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p619
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p33-4
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p474-5
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p355
    Lysons, D. and S., 1822, Magna Britannia Vol6 Devon p. cccxlv-cccxlviii [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=406]
• Journal Articles
  • Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
    Higham, R.A., 1982, 'Early Castles in Devon' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p101-116
    Saunders, A.D. et al, 1980, 'Lydford Castle, Devon' Medieval Archaeology Vol24 p123-86
    Wilson, D.M. and Hurst, D.G., 1965, 'Medieval Britain in 1964. II. Post-Conquest' Medieval Archaeology Vol9 p188
    1964, , Medieval Archaeology Vol8 p252
    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]
    1959, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol91 p176-7
    Renn, D.F., 1959, 'Mottes: a classification' Antiquity Vol33 p106-12 [listed as siegework where the suggestion seems to be the mound around the tower is a siege work, turning a prison into a castle]
    1959, Medieval Archaeology Vol3 p307
    1958, Medieval Archaeology Vol2 p195
    Worth, 1883, Journal British Archaeological Society Vol39 p350-4
    Worth, 1879, Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol11 p283-302
• Guidebooks
  • Saunders, A.D., 1982 2edn, Lydford: Saxon Town and Castle (HMSO)
    Anon, 1964, Guide book (HMSO)
    Radford, C.A.R., 1947, Lydford Castle, Devon (HMSO) [adridged]
    Radford, C.A.R., 1935, Lydford Castle, Devon (HMSO)
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Newman, P., 2000, The Town and Castles Earthworks at Lydford, Devon (English Heritage Survey Report)
    Higham, R.A.,1979, The Castles of Medieval Devon (unpub PhD thesis, Univ Exeter)