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Totnes Castle
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Totness
In the civil parish of Totnes.
In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).
Motte and bailey castle, presumably with timber fortifications, was constructed by Judhael of Totnes shortly after the Conquest. It occupied the north-east corner of the Anglo-saxon burgh. The earliest shell-keep, built by Reginald de Braose circa 1219, was extensively rebuilt together with the rest of the castle by Baron Zouche in 1326. The castle was later owned by the Edgecombes of Cothele and the Seymour family, by whom it was placed in the guardianship of the Ministry of Works in 1947. The main function of Totnes castle was to act as a centre for the manorial courts under the constable, and as a base for the administration of the family estates. The earliest remains, apart from the motte and bailey earthworks, are masonry footings on the top of the motte of an Cll or C12 square, timber tower. The surviving upstanding masonry is mostly of C14 date and comprises a circular masonry shell-keep and sections of the bailey curtain wall. Keep of Devonion limestone rubble with red sandstone dressings and battered external face. Crenellated battlements with merlons pierced for loom; approached by 2 stairways in the thickness of the wall. Garderobe chamber also within the thickness of the curtain and projecting beyond the line of the wall; lit by pair of crossed loops. Bailey curtain-wall of pitched limestone rubble. The hall and other domestic buildings which formerly stood in the bailey no longer survive.
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.
This site is a
Grade 1 listed
building protected by law*. (Images
of England number 99088)
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX800605
PastScape number;
446547
- Web site links
- 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) p83-5
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p63
Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford)
Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p78
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) p44-7
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p309
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
Renn, D.F., 1969, Three Shell Keeps (HMSO) p22-7
Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p49-51
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1952, Buildings of England: South Devon p297-8
Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p57-9
Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p96-8
Watkin, H.R., 1917, The History of Totnes Priory and Medieval Town Vol2 p637-50
Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p221
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Wall, C., 1906, in Page, Wm (ed), 'Ancient Earthworks' VCH Devon Vol1 p621-2
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p42-4
Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p478-9
- Journal Articles
- Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p310
Higham, R.A., 1982, 'Early Castles in Devon' Château Gaillard Vol9-10 p101-116
Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p142-9
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]
Rigold, S., 1954, 'Totnes Castle: Recent Excavations' Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol86 p228-56
Toy, S., 1933, 'The Round Castles of Cornwall' Archaeologia Vol83 p204-7
Whitley, H., 1916, 'Totnes castle and walled town' Devonshire Association reports and transactions Vol48 p189-98
- Guidebooks
- 1998, Totnes Castle (English Heritage)
Rigold, S., 1990 (2edn), Totnes Castle (English Heritage)
Rigold, S., 1987, Totnes Castle (English Heritage)
Rigold, S., 1979 (2edn), Totnes Castle (HMSO)
Rigold, S., 1955, Totnes Castle (HMSO) [improved version]
Rigold, S., 1952, Totnes Castle (HMSO)
- Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
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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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