Wareham Castle

In the civil parish of Wareham Town.
In the historic county of Dorset (Modern Authority of Dorset, 1974 county of Dorset).

The earthwork remains of a C12 motte and bailey with a stone keep. The motte is 250ft in diameter and 120ft across at the top. The surrounding ditch, now mostly filled in, is best preserved to the south south west where it is now about 70ft across and 22ft below the top of the mound. Beyond the ditch on the north and north east sides the curve of the west part of West Street and of Trinity Lane probably indicates the line of the bailey. Excavations in the 1950s discovered the base of a C12 stone keep. There are documentary sources for the castle's history.

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

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SY92178718

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; 456693

• Web site links
  • http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/articles/ArticlesDetail.asp?ID=187
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p30
    Pomeroy, Colin, 1998, Discover Dorset Castles and Forts (Dovecote Press) p44-6
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p68
    Wilton, Phil,1995, Castles of Dorset (Wimborne)
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p128
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p313
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    RCHME, 1970, An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset. Vol2: south-east (HMSO) p324-6 plate 172
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p852
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p252-5
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p514-6 [reprint of 1875 article]
    Hutchins, J., 1861-73 (3edn), History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset (Blandford) Vol1 p88
• Journal Articles
  • Clark, Harry, 2001 July, 'The excavation of Wareham Castle' Dorset Life
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p316
    Renn, D F., 1960, 'The keep of Wareham Castle' Medieval Archaeology Vol4 p56-68
    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]
    Farrar, R.A.N., 1950, 'Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol72 p82
    Bertelot, R.Grosvenor, 1943, 'Vanished Mediaeval Castles of Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol66 p67-68
    Bennett, George J., 1898, 'Religious Foundations and Royal Castle of Wareham' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol19 p94-105
    Bennett, George J., 1892, 'Wareham: Its Invasions and Battles' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol13 p97-98
    Clrk, G.T., 1875, The Builder Vol33 p661-2
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Laud Chronicle AD1113
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/dorseteng.html#dorset7]