Somerton Castle, Oxfordshire (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Somerton.
In the historic county of Oxfordshire.
Modern Authority of Oxfordshire.
1974 county of Oxfordshire.
Medieval County of Oxfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP49582875
Latitude 51.95623° Longitude -1.27849°

Somerton Castle, Oxfordshire has been described as a probable Timber Castle, and also as a certain Masonry Castle.

There are no visible remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

Description

In a field slightly north-east of the church and sloping down to the river, mounds and fishponds can still be seen marking the site of the medieval castle of the De Greys. An extent of 1295 mentions its court, dovecote, fishponds, curtilages, and gardens. It was presumably uninhabited in the early 16th century, when William Fermor built a new manor-house on another site, but the chapel in the castle yard was still standing in 1580 when Thomas Fermor bequeathed it for use as a school. There is a tradition that the present school-house stands on the site of this chapel. Thirteenth-century pottery was dug up near by in 1954. (VCH)

There are several references to a 'castle' at Somerton in North Oxfordshire. In Oxoniensia 17-18 (1952-3) p.218 it is stated that' there is a tradition that the school stands on the site of the inner court of a castle', and in VCH Oxon Vol. 6 (1959) p.290 the 'site of the medieval castle of the de Greys in a field northeast of the church has mounds and fishponds'. In 1295 an extent mentions its court, dovecote, fishponds, curtilages and gardens.
Figure 4C shows the earthworks remaining around the school, north of the church; only the immediately adjacent earthworks and fishponds have been sketch planned but there are more earthworks of a large shrunken medieval village to the south and north. It will be seen that the construction of the railway in 1850 obscured the western part of the site and it is likely that medieval earthworks were buried then. The watermill site possibly from the C11 was certainly destroyed at that time.
The breaks of slope around the school seem to indicate a moated area round a central roughly rectangular platform. The ditch of the moat, which can never have been entirely water filled, is clearly marked on the southwest sides by an embankment 1-1.5m high. On the east side it is not so clear but the present road appears to follow its outer edge.
Details of the western side of the castle site are unknown; it could either have been a motte and bailey with the motte possibly buried under the railway embankment or it could have been a simple moated enclosure with the lower western moat lying parallel to the river Cherwel. (Aston 1974)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1004826, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number ox261
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 336824.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 2455.

Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of The Thames Valley and The Chilterns (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 79 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 387
  Lobel, Mary D. (ed), 1959, VCH Oxfordshire Vol. 6 p. 290 online transcription
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 1 p. 165-6 online copy
  Blomfield, J.C., 1884, Deanery of Bicester Vol. 1 part 4 p. 90, 93, 152
Periodical Articles
- Chambers, R.A., 1984, Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit: newsletter Vol. 4 p. 9
  Chambers, R.A., 1983, Oxfordshire Archaeological Unit: newsletter Vol. 3 p. 11
  Aston, M., 1974, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter Vol. 4 p. 16-17 (plans) online copy
  1952-3, Oxoniensia Vol. 17-18 p. 218 online copy

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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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