Bedale Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Bedale.
In the historic county of Yorkshire.
Modern Authority of North Yorkshire.
1974 county of North Yorkshire.
Medieval County of Yorkshire North Riding.

OS Map Grid Reference: SE26528842
Latitude 54.29072° Longitude -1.59407°

Bedale Castle has been described as a Masonry Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are no visible remains.

Description

King writes 'persistently credited with castle on no evidence at all'. Salter writes castle of about 1300, foundations were visible in mid C19. Jackson say was more a hunting lodge thought to be founded by Brian fitz Alan prior to his death in 1305 and to have been abandoned before 1340. In 1859 a visitor noted that 'Extensive foundations lie beneath the surface of the gardens of Bedale Hall where the castle is said to have stood.' Site now covered by road.

Brian son of Alan had a park here in the time of King John. (VCH ref. Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 186)

Comments

King over states the position. The FitzAlans were an important family of soldiers occasional holding office as county Sheriff. Brian was custodian of Scotland from 1297. Bedale was a major manor of theirs with a park and will have had a substantial house for which foundations were found. It is highly likely this house will have had the full panoply of martial architectural decoration including crenellations. See also the fortifications added to the parish church of St Gregory. However, it is an open question as to if this made the house a 'castle'. The location, beside the church, suggests this was more than a hunting lodge, although the adjacent park will have been a focus for the house.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 52188.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) MNY15611.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Bedale Hall
Books
- Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 20
  Jackson, M.J., 2001, Castles of North Yorkshire (Carlisle) p. 1-2
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 533 (reject)
  Page, Wm (ed), 1914, VCH Yorkshire: North Riding Vol. 1 p. 105, 292-4, 298 online transcription
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Speight, H., 1897, Romantic Richmondshire p. 151 online copy
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 208 online copy
  Clark, G.T., 1884, Mediaeval Military Architecture in England (Wyman and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 88 online copy
  Whellan T, 1859, History and topography of the city of York and the North Riding of Yorkshire Vol. 2 p. 102 online copy
  Allen, T., 1831, A new and complete history of the county of York Vol. 3 p. 496
Periodical Articles
- I'Anson, W.M., 1913, 'The castles of the North Riding' Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol. 22 p. 360 (reject)
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Illingworth, William (ed), 1818, Placita de quo warranto temporibus Edw. I. II. & III. In curia receptae scaccarij Westm. asservata (Record Commission) p. 186

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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