Pleshey Castle

Description

Pleshey Castle. A good example of the Motte and Bailey type of earthwork with a well preserved town enclosure or Burgus attached. The castle is ascribed to the De Mandevilles in the 12th century. It consists of a steep oval-shaped mount surrounded by a wide moat, a strong inner bailey on the South, slight traces of another bailey to the North, and well-defined remains of the Town enclosure also to the North. Excavations have confirmed that the castle ditch was backfilled in 1157-8 on the orders of Henry II. In 1180 licence was granted to fortify the castle, it being the administrative centre of the de Mandeville estates. Pleshey remained part of the Mandeville estates until 1227-8 when it passed to the Bohun family by marriage. The castle remained the adminstrative centre of the estates until at least the early 16th century. A survey of the estate in 1558-9 found most of the buildings to be ruinous. These included a hall, domestic structures, timber gatehouse, a stone chapel, and brick bridge. (PastScape)

The first extensive excavations were in 1907, by Col W N Tuffnell (the present owner's grandfather). Large buildings on motte and in upper bailey were uncovered. Hundreds of decorated, glazed floor tiles were removed to his house at Langleys where they were eventually buried. A rectangular building was found on top of the motte. No record of ths was published until the Morant Club uncovered the foundations again in 1921-1922. The building was 67 x 56ft externally, with a thin curtain-wall, supported on at least 3 sides by 11 projections, of flint rubble-work. Some were solid, some hollow. 3 types of construction were noted but no superimposition of foundations. They are likely to be of different dates but there is no evidence of this yet. This building on the motte was interpreted as a shell-keep within thin curtain walls. Rhatz thought it more likely to be the 15th century Great Hall, in the light of newly discovered 15th century documents. Christy suggested the following dates for the 3 types of construction: 12th century, 13th century, 15th or 16th century. Monitoring of the reinstatement of Pleshey Castle was undertaken in June 1993. No archaeological remains were revealed during the works. The reinstatement has been completed to the satisfaction of ECC Archaeology section. The castle at Pleshey was built by the mid twelfth century and consisted of a steep oval-shaped motte, surrounded by a moat, with a wide bailey on the northern side. In 1157-8 there was a general order to destroy all the de Manderville castles following Geoffrey de Manderville II's arraignment for treason. In 1167 permission was given to William de Manderville to refortify Pleshey and the construction works appear to have included the construction of a second southern bailey and probably the town enclosure. A survey was made of the castle in 1558-9 which recorded that the buildings were in a state of ruin and desertion. It however also lists some of the structures present, including the brick bridge, a hall, various houses, the Constable's house, the kitchen and the outer gatehouse; all of these were timber-built and a chapel built of flint-rubble. The survey advocates that the bridge is left intact as access to the motte which had been turned into a rabbit warren. (Unlocking Essex's Past)

Comments

A licence to refortify the castle, was issued between 1166 and 1180. Not, in a meaningful sense, a licence to crenellate although has been called this by some. Translating the medieval latin licentia as 'permission' can be erroneous and is misleading. Often the term meant 'freedom to' that is it was a statement of good will from a higher lord rather than consent.
The placename Pleshey is a corruption of le pleisse, a French term for enclosure, and this may suggest Pleshey was a new post-Conquest foundation not a Norman replacement/rebuild of a Saxon manorial site.