Castle Ashby; The Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Asheby David; Asscheby

In the civil parish of Castle Ashby.
In the historic county of Northamptonshire and the Soke of Peterborough.
Modern Authority of Northamptonshire.
1974 county of Northamptonshire.
Medieval County of Northamptonshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP86255923
Latitude 52.22453° Longitude -0.73873°

Castle Ashby; The Castle has been described as a Timber Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a Masonry Castle although is doubtful that it was such, and also as a certain Palace, and also as a probable Fortified Manor House.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Castle extant during the 11th century and in ruins during the 1530s. The present house was constructed in 1574 and completed circa 1600. The house was constructed around a courtyard and was generally of two-storeys, with a tower projecting at each corner. There were later additions of circa 1624-1635, early 18th century and 1748. The hall was rebuilt between 1771-1772 and there were major renovations between 1797-1807. T G Jackson remodelled the house circa 1880 and Fairfax Wade carried out alterations in 1884. There were also 20th century alterations. (PastScape)

The mansion, which is one of the seats of the Marquess of Northampton, has nothing of the castle about it; it is a fine house of the Elizabethan period, altered in many places by descendants of the original builder, Henry, 1st Lord Compton. But it was built near the site of the medieval castle which already in the time of Leland, early in the 16th century, was a ruin. It is 'now clene down', he says, 'and is made a septum for beestes'. (VCH)

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1306 Sept 16 (Click on the date for details of this licence.).

Comments

The assertion that there was a castle here from the C11 comes from Pevsner, but doesn't appear to be supported by archaeological or documentary evidence. The tenurial history given in the VCH would not exclude a castle here but isn't particular suggestive of one. This was a small manor, of less than 2 hides, held by knight's service from the honor of Huntingdon by a local family. In the welsh marches manors of this size and type are sometimes marked with a small motte but that is not usual in Northamptonshire.
The castle Leland saw scant ruins of must have been the house of Bishop Walter de Langton, who was both wealthy and a notable builder, although it is unlikely this was more than a fortified manor house. The lack of remains in Lelands time, less than 250 years after it was built, may well suggest this not a particularly strong building despite the castle name. Leland description, as an enclosure for animals, is too vague for a suggestion of form and the construction of the Elizabethan house has entirely removed the medieval house and much altered the local landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1371298
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 345187.
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Wikipedia entry
  Castle Ashby Gardens (visitor information)
Books
- Lowerre, A.G., 2005, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd: BAR British Series 385) p. 242-3
  Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 73
  Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 183
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 167, 173
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 169 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 319
  Pevsner, Nikolaus; revised by Bridget Cherry, 1973, Buildings of England: Northamptonshire (Penguin) p. 139
  Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1937, VCH Northamptonshire Vol. 4 p. 230, 232-3 online transcription
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 405 online copy
  Bridges, John, 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire (Oxford) Vol. 1
Periodical Articles
- Scriven, R.G., 1878, 'The history of Castle Ashby' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 35 p. 360-3 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1898, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward I (1301-1307) Vol. 4 p. 462 online copy
  Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) (lists sources for 1272-1422) p. 337
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 324
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1907, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 7 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Lowerre, A.G., 2004, Placing Castles in the Conquest. Landscape, Lordship and Local Politics in the South-Eastern Midlands, 1066-1100 (PhD thesis: Boston College) p. 521-22
  Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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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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