Marisco Castle, Lundy Island

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

Situated in a prominent cliff-top setting at the south east corner of Lundy. The history of a castle on this site begins with the construction of a shell keep and bailey on order of Henry III in 1243. In 1643, during the Civil War, the royalist Thomas Bushell restored the castle 'from the ground at his own charge.The present remains seem to date from this restoration. Foundations of medieval curtain wall found in excavation in 1984/5. Marisco Castle was built in 1243 after Henry III had executed William de Marisco in 1242 for treason. The de Marisco family, who held Lundy from the C122 to 1321 were pirates who terrorised this coast, but as reputed descendants of a royal bastard they made claims to the throne.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry footings remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 91981)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS14174377

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 31785

Web site links

http://www.lundyisland.co.uk/

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) p68-9
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p60
Ternstrom, Myrtle, 1994, The castle on the island of Lundy: 750 years, 1244-1944
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p553
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p259
Gardner, Keith S., 1972, The archaeology of Lundy: a field guide (Landmark Trust) p14-15, 255
Langham, 1970, Lundy (Newton Abbot) p75-8
Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p732-3
Powicke, 1947, Henry III and the Lord Edward (Oxford) Vol2 p756-8 [history]
Winmill, C C., 1928, Report on Marisco Castle. Society Pres. Ancient Buildings
Loyd, 1925, Lundy, its History and Natural History (London) p25-30
Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p577-8
Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol6 p191-6

Journal Articles

Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
Dunmore, S., 1982, 'The castle in the Isle of Lundy' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol40 p153-62
Gardner, Keith S., 1968 May, 'Lundy: the Archaeology of an island that has been the haunt of pirates, smugglers and saints.' Current Archaeology Vol8 p196-202

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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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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